Angels in Blue Baseball Caps
by Oh-no-she-di'ent
Summary: Tragedy leads to something unexpected.  L/L. Rated T. Complete.
1. Edge of Nowhere

_**Disclaimer: **_I don't own anything used in the show

Hey, all! This is a nail-biter. Unfortunately, you're not going to like me very much for this one. Don't believe me? I have three words for you: Major Character Death. I went there. Yes, I did. Blame the muse, people. A scene from this story just came to me one day, and ideas came quicker than I could get them down. Just try to give it a chance. It's sad, yes, but it's also strange and funny and a bit of an adventure. It's definitely a story I thought was worth telling. AU S5 without the kiss/ relationship. **Rated T for topic & mild adult language**. Nicole never existed. Fyi, I have no intention of offending anyone or their beliefs, & this doesn't necessarily reflect mine. Just keep in mind this is fiction. Story is complete & I broke it into chapters because of the length (43,000 words). Enjoy the story, Readers. :)

**Angels in Blue Baseball Caps**

Edge of Nowhere

_**February 2, 2005**_

Lorelai shut her eyes and breathed. Her alarm clock had just pulled her from sleep, and she was seconds from rising and going about her day.

The mornings were bad.

Nighttime brought dreams. Fashioned realism. Misconceptions. All things she wished to cling to. But clinging wasn't an option when night turned to day. The shrill sound of her clock demanded cognizance and with that, an unsympathetic shove into the surreal-like abyss of reality.

Mornings were awfully bad.

Tears stung her eyes. The effort it took to fight them back gave her an instant headache. Only a few fell before the numbness came and stopped them cold. The numbness led her to open her eyes and stare lifelessly at the ceiling of her bedroom as she caught a better breath. Though an emotional parasite, the numbness was needed. It hadn't been there day one and two. It was nowhere to be found as Lorelai lay in the very bed she now occupied with an inability to do anything but weep. Day one and two made her wish for death. Made her wish for death even when the most important person in her life had laid down next to her and cried her own tears of sorrow while whispering to her to please get up and be the strong mom because she was needed. That lack of numbness made that plea fall on deaf ears as immeasurable pain left her quaking and sobbing.

She would have lay there and cried through the funeral had it not been for the numbness.

But she made the funeral.

Sat through the most unmockable funeral service of her life. Hugged a crying Rory. Leaned forward and rubbed the shoulder of a grieving sister and nephew. Listened to wails and shouts and pleas of "No" and "why" and "oh, god". She didn't shed a tear. The numbness had her back. Led her to help a weak and wobbly Liz to the podium as she eulogized her only brother. Made for a solid frame as Liz turned and buried her face in her shoulder midway through, leaving Lorelai to finish the last two lines of what was written. She rubbed her hand soothingly along Liz's back as she broke down in the worst way. Lorelai looked down past the microphone and into the crowd where there wasn't one dry eye in the overflowing church. Jess was a mess. Kirk was a mess. Sookie's tears had even gotten Davy scared and upset.

She only sighed and continued to comfort Luke's little sister.

It was a sad day, that day. The saddest of them all since the actual day of the accident. About a thousand times, Lorelai had questioned the universe as to how a person's life could change in an instant. A thousand times that would surely be followed by ten thousand more.

How could laughter fill one minute and inescapable pain, the next?

Before the numbness became her ally, Lorelai had only that night. There would never be a detail out of place or a word forgotten given how many times she'd relived the scene. Kneeled next to Luke, covered in his blood, she'd been one of the last to experience him alive.

_**January 13, 2005**_

"I-I can't fee…I can't feel my legs."

Voices from those near enough to touch sounded distant as she struggled to make sense of her reality. She pressed her hand over a deep puncture wound in his side that was gushing blood. She pressed hard and focused on his words.

"It's going to be okay, okay? They're calling for help now." Townies were everywhere. A few kneeled a short distance away wanting to help but scared to help. They gave Lorelai room. She'd been the first at his side. Had been the first to make a move when she had no idea what move to make. Other townies had turned away and saw fit to make an already scary situation even scarier by crying and screaming like banshees. Most others were on cell phones checking status of the ambulance and, of course, passing along news of the tragedy to other town members.

She managed to look back to Luke with a reassuring smile. "Cell phones to the rescue. Pretty ironic, huh?"

Violent tremors passed through his body. He fought for control. "Y-ye-yeah, I guess th-th-they aren't so bad." He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw so tight, veins popped out of his neck.

Lorelai felt sudden fear and panic. She forced herself to pull it together. "Hey, hey," she whispered. He opened his eyes and blinked repeatedly at the sky. "Stay with me, okay?" she encouraged with calm.

He nodded quickly. "That's the plan." His eyes never left the sky. His breathing heightened as more and more of his blood poured onto the sidewalk. "I c-can't feel my legs," he said again. He swallowed. "Is something on t-t-them?"

Lorelai looked down his body and she swallowed deeply when she saw the abnormal angle of both his legs. Her eyes went back to his. "They're fine," she lied with a cracking voice.

He looked at her. "B-bad liar." He took a second and made a supreme effort to gain control of his shaking. It didn't work, but he went on speaking anyway. "They're in the m-m-m…m-middle of the street somew-where, aren't they?"

Lorelai smiled but looked about ready to cry. "No, they're there. Just try to relax, okay?" Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away like they were poisonous.

The motorcycle engine was distracting. In remembering that night, Lorelai recalled how she'd wished someone would shut off the fucking bike. It'd plowed through the ice cream shop after slamming into Luke. And that still hadn't been enough to cut its engine. The impaired driver, who'd lost control and fallen from the bike prior to impact, was injured but still up and walking. The large group had just exited the town meeting when the motorcyclist had come racing through the square. Even through the panic, all seemed capable of discerning the bike's path. The driver hit the pavement and everyone raced away from the skidding bike. Everyone except Taylor. Luke had come back and rammed his body into him just in time. Taylor sailed several feet away and landed on the sidewalk face-first. But it was too late for Luke.

"I feel like I-I'm losing a lo-lot of blood."

Lorelai shook her head. "It seems worse than it is, Luke. This is…" Her hand eased off the wound when she thoughtlessly made a move to wipe away fresh tears using her shoulder. Blood squirted out before she corrected her mistake and applied firmer pressure. "Um, t-this is not that bad," she finished.

He appeared to be falling asleep, slipping out of consciousness. Even seemed delirious. Through all that pain and goriness, he smiled and opened his heavy lids to the sky yet again. "More lies," he stated.

She leaned closer when the noise from the crowd grew louder. "You have to stay with me, Luke. Stay awake. Please."

He started nodding off and she called out to him, making him snap back awake. "Listen to…me…" He breathed with exhaustion. "If don't m-make it…"

"What are you—"

"Make sure…" He closed his eyes for a long, tired moment. "I have to make sure that all my…"

"Don't you dare start thinking that."

"I have a lawyer…and everything is…so just make sure t-that…"

She shook her head, tried to shake away the tears that'd started leaking from her eyes again. "I'm not listening to this."

He shook his head tiredly. "Lorelai, please. Liz…number kitchen drawer. Tell her I said…tell her…"

"Tell her yourself," she instructed soundly.

"What's he saying?"

Lorelai's red, teary eyes went up to Andrew who had leaned in closer in an effort to hear Luke. She shook her head. "He's delirious," she relayed weakly.

He nodded and backed away slowly and respectfully.

Luke turned his head and watched Andrew and the rest of the people there with his glazed, drooping eyes. His head fell back to the side where Lorelai stooped and he blinked to get a better visual. She was fading away. He gave up and looked back toward the sky. "S-sorry I got blood on your dress. Y-you looked so nice." He smiled. "Really pretty," he said distantly. His shaking lessened.

She stared into his eyes and felt panicked as his body grew more still. His eyes slowly closed. "Luke." She shook him, but nothing happened. "Luke! Stay with me, damn it!" She shook him again as the levee broke and she started to sob uncontrollably. "Open your eyes; you have to open your eyes! Please, god, open your eyes. Wake up! Open your eyes now, _please, _Luke!"

Patty, Andrew, Bootsie, and other familiar faces came closer and tried to encourage her to back away as her emotions got the best of her. She ignored them until she felt hands touch her shoulder. "_Get off of me_!" she cried. They jumped in shock but only took their hands away. Didn't back away. They spoke words that she couldn't hear through her own emotional hell. "Open your eyes, Luke! God, please, don't do this to me!" She made herself stop. Made herself think. Her eyes closed and her lips moved as she quickly recalled the steps to CPR. Only took a couple seconds before her eyes popped open and she jumped into action. Thirty compressions. Tilt head. Mouth-to-mouth, eyes on chest. Watch for rise and fall and breathe again. Thirty compressions…

He responded. Came to but was so weak, he lost consciousness soon after. He kept breathing, though. Lorelai begged him to hold on and not give up.

The ambulance arrived two minutes later and they took it from there. As Lorelai later came to find out, her immediate actions kept him from bleeding out before paramedics got there.

Given the severity of his injuries, however, Luke died shortly after arriving to the hospital.

Liz/ Jess were his immediate family, and they were notified right away.

The town knew within the hour.

Stars Hollow was like a ghost town that following day. Businesses didn't open. Joggers didn't jog. And dark clouds took over the sky, refusing to let the sun shine.

Luke Danes was dead.

After the funeral, everyone tried their best to get back to what was normal. Lorelai wasn't excluded from that. She returned to the grind and made an effort to maintain her spirits. Thoughts of Luke made her inattentive at times, but when brought back, she was okay. The numbness made sure of that.

_**February 2, 2005**_

Now, at three weeks in, Lorelai lay there in bed wondering if there would ever be a day when she wouldn't have to summon the feeling that made her unable to feel. Every morning upon waking, Luke would be her first thought. And pain would seem to wrap itself around her every nerve, her every organ, threatening to paralyze them. Then, suddenly and gratefully, she'd be instantly anesthetized. And her day would start. She couldn't imagine living the rest of her days like the past month, though. She knew at some point, she'd have to face things full on, and she only hoped that all the time gone by would have taken some of the edge off.

Lorelai wiped away the fallen tears and stood. She went to her closet and shoved aside the darker colors, which had carried her through the first two weeks and instead eyed the dresses that didn't signify mourning and depression. She'd begun to brighten up her attire days ago and only saw it as inspiration for her mental self.

She took a long, unrushed shower as had become her routine—her preparation for a day of being normal and unaffected. Despite it being yet another day with personal proof that no one knew when their time was, and in the end, everyone was just born to die.

_Merrily merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream_.

"Morning, Honey."

Lorelai offered a smile to her best friend as she entered the Dragonfly. As was also routine now, she'd gotten through her morning ritual and had made it to the inn in a virtual daze. Just another checkmark on the old to-do list.

"Hey, Gorgeous. Loving the lipstick," she said with an impressed regard. "Jackson's still in the picture, isn't he? You haven't kicked him to the curb and jumped on the prowl, have you?"

Sookie waved away the words. "No, he's still my hunka hunka burning love. For now. No telling what's going to happen if I get home and he _still_ hasn't done those dishes he's been promising to do since yesterday afternoon."

She walked over to the check-in desk where Sookie was standing and proceeded to deposit some things behind the counter. "Well, I'm sure he'll get to them right away now. I can bet he doesn't want to miss out on his good behavior lovin', what with you looking all glowy and pretty-like."

Sookie laughed and flipped her curls. "Well, I have to turn it on every now and then. At least that's what chapter eight of the Temptressing for Dummies handbook tells me."

"Wait til you hit chapter ten: _Why God _Really_ Made Knees_. It'll give you a whole new outlook."

"Can't wait," she responded with chuckles. She took in Lorelai's wear. "You look pretty nice yourself, there, Miss Bright and Beautiful."

Lorelai smiled. "We're so good for each other's self-esteem."

"Seriously. Who needs a man's approval when you have a friend like Lorelai?"

"Or Sookie."

"Sucks for everybody without one of us."

"Chumps."

Sookie admired her further. "It's so nice to see _you_ coming back out, Sweetie. Ya know…_you_," she stressed. She took a breath. "It's just really nice."

Lorelai took interest in straightening desk items. "Yeah. Well…the off-to-meet-the-pope look has to end at some point, right?" she lightly joked.

Sookie smiled a little. "But just so you know, it's okay to not be fine. I mean, of course it's okay…I mean, none of the rest of us are 'fine'," she said with air quotes as she rambled on. "So, no one's expecting any certain kind of…_anything_. We're all just taking things one day at a time, and hey, if person A wants to wear black, person A is more than welcome to do that. Everybody grieves in their own…" She took a breath and rolled her eyes at herself. "Okay, this is me shutting up."

Lorelai had continued to busy herself with mundane tasks through that whole monologue. When Sookie finally reached an end, she smiled toward the stapler she was now filling. "It's okay, Sook," she said in short.

"I talk too much."

"You talk just enough."

"No, no, I talk and talk, and I don't know how to stop myself, and I end up saying the wrong thing, and I just really have to learn to control that better."

Lorelai pushed the stapler aside and turned to her friend. "Hey, you know what I just remembered?"

"What?"

She looked off thoughtfully. "I told Michel that I'd bring the card for that dog grooming place right outside of Hartford. Babette took Cinnamon there once to get his nails filed."

"Took her cat to dog grooming?"

"Yeah, the dogs welcomed him with open furry little arms, but they told him not to make a habit of it. Anyway, I promised Michel I'd bring it today, and I forgot, so I think I'm going to run back home and grab that." She leaned low and grabbed her purse and then her workbag to take into her office.

Sookie turned in the direction that she'd begun to walk. "Oh…okay. Y-you just got here, though. You can wait until your lunch hour if it's more convenient. I mean, it's only _Michel_."

Lorelai kept walking. "Promise is a promise, you know? Woman's only as good as her promise. Get to breaking promises, and then comes the feeling of despair, I'll start questioning my purpose, feeling useless, and before you know it, I'll be the Courtney Love of Connecticut."

"Oh, wow. Definitely don't want that."

"Yeah, I know. So, I'm going to run home, and I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone."

"Alright, Hon. See you in a bit," Sookie followed with concern in her voice. It wasn't hard to gather that Lorelai always seemed to go missing when she'd inadvertently bring up Luke's passing in any conversation. Any taboo topic caused Sookie's mind to zoom in on it, so she'd alluded to that painful reminder often in the past few weeks.

Lorelai disappeared around the corner. Popped in her office and popped right back out as she quickly headed for the exit. She waved to Sookie and was out the door in a flash.

Sookie hit her forehead with her hand and headed off in her own direction.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai made it inside of the crapshack. Closed the door and leaned on it. Wanted to feel like she was in a safe haven but got the facts when she looked around her living space. She was only at home. Nothing had changed at home.

Luke was dead at work.

Luke was dead at home.

The one constant she needed to escape and couldn't. Luke was dead and had been for three weeks. There was no waking up from that nightmare.

Numbness didn't hide the facts. Didn't stop the truth from smothering her.

She took a deep breath and moved out of the foyer. The business card that she'd journeyed home for was in the single drawer of the desk beside the door. She bypassed that and made a beeline to the kitchen.

The sun had moved to its early morning position and had her kitchen painted a distinct orangish yellow.

She pulled a glass from the cabinet and filled it with tap water. She drank just enough to wet her throat before she set it down and stared through the window. The grass seemed to grow right before her eyes. It was way too long, which was nothing new, except now she had no one to hound her about getting it cut before finally giving up and cutting it himself.

Everywhere she looked, it was something. Something else that served as a blunt reminder.

She frowned at the yard, absently picked up the glass of water, and splashed the remainder of it into the sink. Her indelicate maneuver caused water to splatter across the stomach of her dress as well as on the floor.

"Perfect," she whispered.

She dropped the glass into the sink and took a moment to calm herself when she felt the strong desire to pick it back up and throw it across the kitchen. She didn't need outside evaluation to determine that wasn't a healthy reaction to something so small.

The numbness definitely had its side effects.

Pulling at the wet area of her dress, she turned to head upstairs. Figured she'd use her blow dryer to fix the problem quickly.

She grabbed a small towel on the way and began trying to soak up the excess water. While crossing through the living room and focusing on the spot, she caught sight of something in her peripheral view. She stopped but wasn't in a rush to turn full attention to what was there because it had appeared to be a someone, rather than a some_thing_.

Using only a second to brace herself, she looked over past the television and to the side door. There, in all his glory, all his familiarity—everything from the backwards baseball cap to the facial fuzz and downplayed blue eyes—stood Luke.

Lorelai stared across the room at him. She squinted her eyes, blinked her eyes, widened them, and squeezed them shut all to no avail. He remained. So, she ended up staring. And staring and staring. Didn't know if she should be screaming…running…grabbing a Bible and going for the phone to get Tangina on the first flight out.

Was she dead? Had she died, too?

The doorbell rang. Lorelai continued to stare at Luke. Didn't move or breathe.

He stared at her as well. Stood in front of that side door casually with his hands at his sides like he had every right in the world to be there.

When the doorbell rang again, he looked toward the window, which showed the driveway. He returned eyes to her still frozen frame in the next moment. "Skip," he said.

She didn't respond. Still didn't move and was going for a record in holding her breath. Numbness in effect, she still felt the incontrollable urge to cry at hearing a voice that sounded like one she thought she'd never hear again.

How wrong was it to embrace a psychotic break?

The bell rung three times in succession. Lorelai looked over on instinct. Looked back over to the side door and found no one there. She looked around, scanned the room. Hit a 90, a 180, and then a full 360 before doing it again.

She swallowed, finally breathed. She grasped the towel in both hands and transferred the dampness in her palms as she quickly ran over to the front door. When she pulled open the door, the mail carrier, Skip, greeted her with a smile.

She had to catch herself before her legs gave out.

"Hey, Lorelai!" he exclaimed. "I didn't think you were home." He pulled some mail from his bag and passed it to her. "This is the last of the late deliveries from Tuesday. Wanted to get all this straightened out as soon as possible, so this should put us back on track," he said brightly as he passed over the mail from the previous day when all mail had been held and delayed due to an issue at the postal service.

She took it from him.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern. "Looks like you've seen a gh-"

"You didn't have to make a special run for this, Skip," she said cutting him off. "You could've brought it with my regular delivery. Would've been fine."

"I know. But I really wanted to set this right. Wouldn't want any late notices arriving on my account. Avery will be by in a few hours with today's mail."

"Well, I really appreciate it, Hon."

"No problem, Lorelai." He gave her a courteous nod and started for the stairs. "Take care."

Lorelai closed the door and turned in slow motion toward the rest of the house. With a measured sweep, she took in the area little by little. She looked, took a step, looked, took another step, and did that until she was back in the living room and able to see the majority of the downstairs area.

No one was there.

She stood in the middle of the floor and listened to the quiet. Waited to hear his voice or a footstep. Heard nothing. She continued to scan every nook and cranny with her eyes for five full minutes before the cold wetness on her stomach reminded her that she needed to get presentable once again so she could head back to the inn.

With one final look around, she grasped the banister and ascended the stairs.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 3, 2005**_

The next day, Lorelai parked on the opposite side of Doose's and cut her jeep off.

She had been getting her groceries from elsewhere for three weeks. The proximity of the store to the diner was just too much to handle. That, and she hadn't been ready to interact with Taylor Doose. She held no resentment toward him. No ill will.

But Luke had sacrificed his life to save Taylor's. She didn't wish for anyone to switch places. Not at all. Taylor deserved his life just as much as Luke deserved his. But she couldn't keep from entertaining the question of why he couldn't get the hell out of the way when everyone else had enough sense to. If he had better reflexes, Luke wouldn't have had to go back for him.

In a roundabout way, she felt Taylor was the reason Luke was dead.

Lorelai thought it best to work out all of those mental kinks before fully facing Taylor again. He didn't deserve odd looks and repressed accusation. Nobody deserved that.

As she sat in her jeep, she peered into the store and saw town members inside shopping. She spotted Taylor walking toward the register and didn't have any sort of adverse reaction to any of it. Feeling soothed at that realization, she slowly brought her attention to the diner.

It was early afternoon, and the people inside were just beginning to multiply. Caesar was running the diner. It'd come as an instant and easy solution to Liz. After Luke's death, she'd been the one to accrue the bulk of his estate. Along with that came the bulk of his responsibilities. She'd considered closing the diner because, in short, she didn't want to deal with the cumbersome duties that'd fall to her if she kept it going. She was a simple girl with not much business sense, and on top of that, she was a sister in mourning who didn't care for the additional stress.

Caesar's stint as Luke's second in command had him knowledgeable of all day-to-day tasks, so when he expressed both willingness and capability, Liz gave him the go-ahead. What he didn't know, he figured it out as he went, and for more than three weeks, he'd been running the diner just as smoothly as its owner had.

Lorelai, however, hadn't been anywhere near it since the night Luke's life was taken.

She honestly didn't know why she suddenly felt she'd come far enough to test her boundaries. What she saw the previous day in her living room was no doubt the leading force behind the visit, but being there reminded her of why she avoided the area. Looking through the familiar windows from the safety of her jeep, she felt frozen to her seat. There was no way she was ready for that particular step.

_Luke's_ no longer had a Luke.

She turned the key and drove away.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 3, 2005**_

"Are you comfortable?"

Lorelai readjusted the pillow under her head and pulled the blanket all the way up to her chin as she snuggled into Sookie's sofa. But not before pulling a squishy green furry toy from between the cushions and tossing it to the floor. "Ah, I'm in heaven," she exaggerated.

Sookie laughed. "You know where everything is, so don't be afraid to make yourself at home."

"Noted. If I had a hat, I'd be laying it down as we speak."

"Alright, Sweetie, I'm going to turn in." She folded her arms across her tied robe. "Just to be absolutely, positively, one hundred percent _sure_-"

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, Sookie, I'm fine. My house is fine. I just wanted some company." She shrugged. "I mean, last night was so fun, I couldn't resist being the lonely, pathetic, single intruding friend for another night. Who could? Satellite, homemade snacks galore, girl talk until the wee hours of…" She looked at the clock, "nine-thirty..." They both laughed. "What more could a girl ask for?"

"True. But yesterday morning, you went home to grab something for Michel, and every since then, it's like you've been trying to avoid going-"

"Sookie, you're my best friend."

"Well, I sure hope so."

"You don't have to hope. You are. Period. It's you and Rory. I wore out my welcome in Rory's dorm in the first two weeks of college, so now I have you and Jackson. Sleepovers and mooching are how I show my best friends that I love them. Stop being so ungrateful, will you?"

Sookie grinned and rolled her eyes at the same time. "I'll try to be a better best friend for you," she replied sarcastically.

"Atta girl."

She turned away with laughter as Lorelai called behind her, "In all seriousness, thanks for letting me crash again," she said genuinely.

"Anytime."

When Sookie left the room, Lorelai sank back down into the cushions and focused on the television as she recalled Luke's appearance in her living room the morning before. She hadn't shared it with anyone. What in the hell would she even say? So she'd just kept it to herself and dealt with it in the best way she knew how: by not dealing with it at all.

She couldn't avoid it forever, though. And she couldn't keep sleeping over at Sookie's without more staidly questions coming her way. She resigned herself to the fact that she'd be back in the crapshack the following night. And with any luck, she wouldn't be in the crazy house by week's end.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 4, 2005**_

Lorelai sat at her kitchen table the very next night with seven Chinese cartons filled with food in front of her. That had become her meal of choice since _Luke's_ turned into a non-option.

She sat there stiff as a board in her own home. Every ten seconds, she'd survey the room. She had come in from work close to an hour ago and now, found that she couldn't fully enjoy her meal because of the constant paranoia. All lights were on downstairs, but the closer it got the one-hour mark, the sillier she felt.

Luke was not alive. He was dead. An appearance from him in her living room would have surely been her own imagination at work. She missed him enough; that was for sure. He'd infiltrated her life more than she knew. When she saw him unable to escape from the path of that bike, she felt the strongest jolt of her heart. It couldn't have hurt less had someone just ripped a chunk of it away. And then when he died…

She missed him every second. Creating ghostly doppelgangers was an easy solution and she wouldn't put it past her state of mind.

Lorelai relaxed at the table. She made herself focus solely on her food until she'd had her fill. She proceeded to gather the leftovers for storage, and when done, she set the dishes she'd used in the sink to be washed later. She went around and flipped each light that she didn't normally have on and then plopped herself on the sofa with an Elle magazine, the remote, and a bag of cheese puffs.

The Golden Girls theme song started to play, and she hummed along as she flipped to the first page of her magazine. Bopping her head, she started singing aloud.

"_Traveled down the road and back again; your heart is true; you're a pal and a confidante…. and the card attached would say, 'thank you for being a friend'."_

Something made her look up from the magazine and over to the laz-e-boy. A presence was felt. And when she looked over, a presence was found.

Luke sat there tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair as he looked at her.

Lorelai took on full stillness as she processed the image that was, once again, coming through to her. Her eyes flitted to the TV as she attempted to test the theory that diverting attention would make her snap back to reality. It didn't work.

She slowly closed the page of her magazine as she looked at him intensely. "I know you're not really here."

He didn't say anything.

"There's no way that this can really be happening."

With steady and heedful movements, she sat the magazine and cheese puffs on the table in front of her and then scooted towards the opposite end of the sofa. Far the hell away from him.

"I'm just going to move…down this way. And you're going to…go away. You're going to disappear. As soon as possible." She got to the other end and sat as close as she could to the arm of the couch. She moved her eyes to the TV and fought to keep them there. Everything in her wanted to drink in the likeness of the ghostly man on her left.

She saw out of the corner of her eye when Luke went away, but she refused to look away from the TV.

Lorelai felt herself shaking. "He's not real…he's not real…he's not real…he's not real…" Suddenly, she looked away from the TV and around the room. "Not real. Not real…" she whispered. She brought her feet up onto the couch and folded them under herself as she lay down and brought a pillow over her head. "He's not real…he's not real…he's not real." She got louder and louder. "He's not real! God, Lorelai, pull it together; you're losing it!" She grasped the pillow. "Pull it together _now_!" With that, she snatched the pillow away and looked around, daring herself to have conjured up a revisit.

Everything was as it should be.

She took a deep breath and retrieved her magazine and snack. She returned to her page and looked at the photos as she waited for her ability to concentrate. The page rattled at the nonstop trembling of her hands.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 5, 2005**_

The following day, Lorelai spent her lunch hour at home. As she waited on her Ravioli bowl to heat in the microwave, she picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hey, Babette! It's me, Lorelai." She created a smile so that the one she wanted to come through on the phone line would be the closest thing to genuine. "Yeah. Well, Honey, I've missed you, too. I've been so busy at the inn and everything, so…Yeah, I know. Things haven't exactly been the same since, uh…" She closed her eyes as she caught herself. "Since R-rory went off to Yale….Yeah, mmhm…Yeah, my enthusiasm for town events have taken a hit lately, I know. I'll try to do better. But hey, actually I'm calling because I know you usually head to the bookstore around this time once a week. I was hoping I'd caught you before you left." She listened and then smiled. "Good, good. I had a couple titles I wanted to pick up for Rory and myself, but with work and all, I haven't found the time to…oh will you?" She paced in front of the microwave. "That'd be a tremendous help to me, Babette. I really appreciate it…well, what are you doing now? Do you mind popping over here really fast? I have to figure out what I did with my list, but by the time you get here, I'll have found it around here somewhere." She nodded and smiled more. "Thanks so much. I'll see you in a minute….okay, bye."

No sooner than Lorelai grabbed a pen and ripped a piece of an envelope off to jot down random titles she figured Rory would like, did she hear Babette's familiar knock.

She hurried to answer.

"Hey, Suga!" Babette greeted with an instantaneous affectionate hug.

Lorelai smiled over her head as she hugged her back. "How are you, Babette?" The show of affection actually felt good. Given how Lorelai's own mother hadn't so much as patted her back since the tragedy with one of her closest friends, Babette's motherly love didn't go unappreciated.

"How ya holding up, Doll Face?"

Lorelai had gotten used to being addressed more personally than everyone else when it came to Luke's death. Like she'd been related to him or involved with him on an intimate level. She'd gotten past the need to question it, but as far as she was concerned, there was nothing abnormal about her feelings on his demise. Everyone in Stars Hollow was in the same boat.

"I'm doing okay. It's just work, work, work these days, you know?" She took Babette's hand and pulled her along as she headed into the kitchen.

Her eyes flashed over by the stove before she turned to the shorter lady quickly causing her to stop walking. With a flourish, Lorelai presented that very area to her. "Hey, what do you think of stainless steel appliances? I was toying with the possibility of an upgrade."

Babette looked over to the area, and Lorelai watched her anxiously. When she saw nothing on her face other than helpful consideration, she swung her own eyes back over to the flannel-clad man standing there with his arms crossed.

Luke sighed, rolled his eyes.

Lorelai turned her back to him and faced Babette. "Do you think anything is wrong with the stove that I have now? Do you see _anything_ wrong with that stove that's there _right now_?"

Babette grew confused at the sound of desperation. She answered her with, "No, I don't see anything wrong with the one you have. I say, if it works, it stays."

Lorelai shot a glance over her shoulder. "So, in your opinion, there's nothing out of place over there…"

Babette looked again. "Everything's fine as far as I can see."

She sighed and gave a weary smile. "Thanks, Babette. I appreciate your help."

"Well, Honey, anytime you want to talk or need advice or anything at all, you know the number and you know the address." Lorelai nodded gratefully. Babette went on. "Losing Luke like we did wasn't easy on anyone. I mean, anyone with a nice, tight ass like his would be missed anyway. Oh, yes!" Lorelai casually looked over to him and saw his face flush. "But he was a good guy who came from a good family, and we love him like crazy." She looked down to the table and picked up the book list that lay there. "This place'll never be the same without him, and it's not a crime to talk to each other. Keeping things bottled up doesn't help at all!"

She looked from the list and finally up at Lorelai. She followed her eyes over toward the cabinets. "What are ya looking at all smiling like a Cheshire?"

Lorelai's attention snapped back to her. "Nothing," she answered with nonchalance.

"Oh, okay." She moved in and gave her another squeeze. "Well, I'm gonna take off, and if you like I'll drop the books off later on tonight when I see you're home."

"That's perfect, Babette. Thanks." Lorelai picked up her purse. "Let me just find some money to-"

"No, no, no, don't worry about it, Suga. I'll take this. You go ahead and eat your delicious smelling lunch, and I'll see you tonight."

"Okay. Well, next time you head to that male strip club outside of town-"

"Because I like to support all new businesses, of course!"

"It's been open for seven years now," Lorelai reminded with a smile.

"Well, I like to believe they're still struggling, and I like to do my part!"

"Oh, of course. Well, if you need someone to spot you some g-string stuffing money, I'm good for it."

"Well, that's a nice offer, but I'm a big spender. The money it'd take to cover these books wouldn't make it past the first ten minutes," she shared seriously. She shook her head and turned to leave at Lorelai's laughter. "See ya, Sweetheart. And tell Rory I said to drop by and see me sometime!"

"I'll do that, Babette. Thanks for all your help."

Lorelai saw her out and then closed and locked the door before returning to the kitchen. She made her way to the microwave while eyeing Luke who casually followed her with his eyes.

She shook her head and popped open the microwave. "If you're going to stand there, you can at least get me a fork," she mumbled.

She heard what sounded like light laughter, but she ignored it as she went to grab a utensil.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 5, 2005**_

That night, Lorelai sat cross-legged on the couch as she had her daily conversation with Rory. She flipped through the channels and, as usual, put up the strongest, bravest front there was for her kid. Way she saw it, she didn't have a lot of room for vulnerability and raw emotions when Rory had seen so much of it in the first couple of days following Luke's fatality.

Rory still had a tough time with accepting everything, and speaking with her was the only time Lorelai tolerated lengthy discussion of the subject. Only because it was Rory. And Rory's well-being and overall mental health was Lorelai's responsibility, no matter what she, herself, was going through.

When she hung up the phone, she let out a huge sigh, finally settled on a random channel, and unmuted the TV. The blaring volume went away as she turned it lower and lower until sound was satisfactory. With that, she dropped the remote and looked straight ahead at the screen.

"I really wish she didn't have to experience any of this." She silently considered that. "If I could soak up her pain, I would. In a second." She smiled a little and her eyes went over to Luke on the laz-e-boy. "Not exactly sure how that'd fare since I'm barely holding it together myself here."

She looked away from the face that was the answer to all of her problems.

"I don't really have to tell you how I've been doing, do I?" She started to laugh maniacally. "I mean, I'm here talking to a figment of my imagination, for god's sake!"

The fit of laughter grew stronger, weaker, then much, much stronger and threatened to take her off the couch. She told herself how she was losing it big time. Found that even funnier. When she calmed enough to catch her breath, she dabbed her wet eyes and released a few straggling chuckles along with a relinquishing sigh. "Anything to feel closer to you, I guess," she added in a quieter voice.

She brought her hands to her lap and returned her eyes to the TV screen. "I miss you so much," she revealed even lower.

She looked at the screen for only seconds before looking back to him. He hadn't stopped staring at her. Lorelai felt her heart race, and she wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. She felt she was losing her damn mind. But boy, was he a captivating sight.

The doorbell rang. Same as it had on his first appearance in her home.

Lorelai smiled. "Can you tell me who that is, Sam Wheat?"

Luke smiled.

Her heart fluttered and raced more. Made her feel terrified. Made her feel lifted.

He leaned into the chair to get more comfortable as she stood and headed for the door.

"She brought Morey. Probably going to want to come in and stay a while."

Lorelai turned instantly at hearing Luke speak. Her heart was beating like a congo drum at that point. Her eyes went to the chair he'd been sitting in, and she found it empty. She searched the space, and he was nowhere in sight.

After taking a second to calm down, she pulled the door open. Babette and Morey were on the other side.

"Hey, Suga!"

"How's it hangin', Lorelai?"

She stuttered out a greeting and reached for the books Babette had in her hand. She handed them over but also invited herself and her husband inside. "Thought we'd stay for a minute! Keep ya company! Morey's been worryin' about ya, haven't ya Morey?"

"Definitely," he answered coolly.

Lorelai looked around again as she closed the door. "O-o-okay. That's fine." She placed the books on the nearest table. "Um, just…make yourselves comfortable."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 6, 2005- February 8, 2005**_

After weeks of waking and feeling familiar pain and sadness, there was finally change.

Over the next few days, Lorelai found that she didn't have to wake and instantly flip a switch that made her able to move forward with her life. There were no instant reminders and pain.

Because in the days that followed, each time her alarm sounded, she was wide-awake and in a sitting position by the third beep. At her bedside, there was a long umbrella that she'd gotten good at grabbing while simultaneously swiping at her clock to stop its chime. While clutching that umbrella like Beatrix did her sword before slaying '88' foes, Lorelai scanned her bedroom with purpose.

She, then, got on her knees swiftly and scrambled to the edge of the bed where she checked underneath. When she found nothing, she hopped to a standing position on the floor to start checking other rooms, the skinny metal dull point on the umbrella leading the way.

When she found every room clear, she made her way back upstairs and put the umbrella back in place for the next day.

Pain was finally outdone. Temporarily overshadowed by intense paranoia.

_**February 9, 2005**_

After three days of vigilance and discomfort in her own home, the day came when Lorelai finally entered the crapshack after work without the caution of a SWAT team leader.

She conversed with a vendor on her cell. The phone was pressed to her shoulder while she distractedly flipped through bills and junk mail.

She rounded the corner to head into the kitchen and had a mini freak-out when she spotted the flannel man walking from the kitchen towards her. Her initial reaction made papers fly everywhere as her phone fell to the ground. The connection effectively came to an end when the battery popped out and slid across the floor. She'd sucked in air like a wheezing asthma sufferer, as if her body was preparing for a blood-curdling scream.

When she saw the face of a friend she trusted most in the world, it seemed insignificant that it was also the face of someone who had been buried four weeks ago. She breathed with relief before snapping in frustration.

"Jesus, will you please stop _doing_ that?"

She leaned low and started pulling papers together. "Can you not stay on the other side of your ghostly portal and ring the ghostly doorbell and wait until I let you in? You can't just pop up like this! You almost gave me heart attack!"

She listened to her own heightened breathing as she focused on picking up all that'd been dropped in fear.

"Sorry," he finally responded in the most casual manner.

The sound of his voice made the insignificant, significant. She stopped moving and slowly looked up. He looked down on her with his thumbs looped in his belt hooks. "What'd you say?" she asked quietly.

"I said sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Lorelai used the table to stand up while keeping her eyes on him. She left everything on the floor where it was. "Say it again," she nearly whispered.

He rolled his eyes. "What are you waiting for me to do, _grovel_?"

She didn't say anything. It finally sunk in that Luke was back. A dead man was once again standing in front of her. Talking. Knowing that was a tad bit on the unnatural side of things, she needed it to stop. She wanted to not be drowning in crazy. She was already drowning in so much else.

She wished him away while hoping her wishes went ignored.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a distant voice.

He looked around and then squinted and appeared to think. "I dunno."

Her eyes went to his flannel, which was the same one he was wearing the day a motorcycle took his life. She had to blink back tears as she looked into his face again. "Why are you here?" she asked again.

"Why do you keep asking me that?"

She closed her eyes for a long moment. Tested the theory, yet again, that taking her eyes from him would make her come back to reality. He was there when she closed her eyes and still there when she opened them, finally forcing her to abandon that assumption for good.

She swallowed. "Do you know you're dead?" She could barely say the last word.

He didn't answer right away. But the question didn't even make his expression change. With that, she figured it out on her own. "Luke, what are you _doing_ here?" she asked with a soft and questioning tone.

He sighed and brought his hand to the back of his neck. "Where am I supposed to be?" was his low reply.

Lorelai found herself at a loss. Was this really happening?

"You're standing in my house, Luke." They stared at one another. "And you're dead."

He looked off to the side.

So much time went by before he found words that he saw worthy of speaking.

"This must be…really weird for you." He paused and his eyes said his forthcoming words a hundred times in that silence. "I'm sorry."

She moved her hands from the table to the wall as she inched closer to it. "For being dead?" she asked with nonsensical humor.

He smiled the faintest smile. "For being here. I don't know why I'm here. In this house. Your house," he ended softer.

She clutched the wall like a safety blanket. "M-maybe the crapshack is built on an ancient burial ground. Like in Amityville Horror," she offered quietly.

He rolled his eyes. "That doesn't make sense."

Her eyes widened like a doe. "And this does?"

"Well, here I am dead. Tell me where to go, and I'll go there."

She looked him over again. "This can't be right, you know? You can't die and just be left to wander around aimlessly. Maybe you're being punk'd."

"Being what?"

"Ashton Kutcher has to be around here somewhere."

"What are you talking about?"

"You should watch more TV, Luke."

"Yeah, sure. Guess I'll keep that in mind for my reincarnation."

Lorelai's eyes watered as she smiled. "I'd say this was a pretty cruel joke to make."

He shook his head. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, this. You here. Why _here_? Why _me_? Just…why?"

He looked down at his feet. "Wish I knew."

"I mean, I'm the only one that can see you."

"I know."

"Some might say I'm eligible for a one-way pass to the loony bin."

"If you've avoided going for all these years, I think you're safe."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"Luke."

"Jeez, Lorelai, what do you want me to say? I don't know why I'm here, okay. You want me to leave? Fine, I get that. Just give me a clue on how I can do that because I don't know! I'm alive one minute; I'm dead the next; all I see is black and then I'm here; black, then I'm here; black then I'm here. At least when I'm here, I'm not in a damn black hole!"

She clung to the wall. Wanted to just step around it and be alone with emotions she could feel about to come and embarrass the hell out of her. "I watched you die, Luke. Not only do I have to deal with you being dead every day for the rest of my life, but I _watched you die_. And now, poof, you're here, and I'm talking to a dead man. If someone walked in right now, in their eyes, I'd be standing here having a conversation with myself. All of that, and the hardest thing for me right now is knowing that I'm going to cling to this. To you popping up and being here. I'm going to lose what little grip I have left clinging to something that's not even real." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Hell, maybe I'm the one that's getting punk'd."

He searched for reason. "That won't necessarily happen. Maybe you'll-"

"It will. It _will_ happen." She started to cry hard and she stomped her foot in anger for being unable to stop that from happening. "I miss you, Luke. I miss you every single day. All I want to do is see you and talk to you and have you yell at me, and I can't ever have that again. God, do you have any idea how life changing this is? All it took was one minute. One minute and one drunk idiot on a motorcycle and that was it. No warning; no nothing. You died, and the rest of us are stuck here having to just…_get over it_. And then you come back. You're here." She wiped a hand across her face and kept talking, refusing to take a breath. "The worst thing you can do is tell me that you're here to stay. Do you think that I won't be tempted to call in sick for the rest of my life just to be here with you?"

He turned away in discomfort. "Jeez, Lorelai."

"Don't jeez me. This is what happens when you draw inspiration from Thriller. I was doing fine before this. Now, look at me," she said with an annoyed gesture toward her face as she steadied her sobs and looked around for tissues.

Luke gestured toward the desk. She spotted the box of tissues and pulled one after the other until she had a handful.

"You were fine?" he asked drearily.

"I was handling it."

He stared at her. Doubted the words she'd just spoken but he didn't say anything. "If I could leave, I would. I don't want to make anything harder than what it is."

Lorelai dabbed her eyes with the tissues. "And if I could get rid of you, I would…before it got harder than what it already is."

"I understand."

She sighed, glad to have her emotions under some control again. "My god. This is a cruel, cruel joke. When my time comes, somebody is going to have some major explaining to do for this."

"I'll put them on alert."

She scoffed at that. "Yeah, right. You can't even find your way home. Maybe if you weren't such a guy you'd have sense enough to ask for directions."

He shook his head. "Never," he played along blandly. "I'd die before I…wait." He looked at her with a tiny smirk, and she smiled with great reluctance as she rolled her eyes away from him. She returned focus to him instantly and seemed at such peace with the visual she took in.

"You've been here longer than the other times," she noted.

He nodded. "Maybe because you're accepting me."

"Only because I'm fresh out of Holy water."

He gave her a look letting her know he wasn't amused. She smiled, her eyes suddenly sparkling like he was something new and shiny and expensive on Christmas morning.

"So…_are_ you accepting me?" he asked to be sure.

She crossed her arms and regarded him in silence for a few seconds. "I feel light. And not so empty. And I can't stop looking at you."

He smiled. "So, that's a yes?"

She took a breath, smiled her truest smile in a month, and answered from her heart. "It's a yes. God help me."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 9, 2005**_

Lorelai sat Indian style on the floor with her back almost against the TV.

She faced Luke who sat on the couch. They looked at one another. Had been a while. It'd been two hours since Lorelai had walked through the door and found him there, and he had yet to go anywhere.

"It's kind of weird with you just staring at me like that," he finally revealed to her.

"Weirder than you being dead and sitting on my couch?"

"Jeez. I wish you'd stop saying that."

"Saying what, weird?" she asked feigning confusion.

"No," he answered annoyed.

"Couch?"

"Dead," he said outright. "Stop saying dead."

She sighed. "I have to keep saying it, Luke. I think if I keep reminding myself of that then I'll have less of a chance of bunking with Daisy, the chicken carcass queen."

"Well, we've both established what happened and what I am. I don't need to be mocked with it."

"Who's mocking?"

"You. And it's getting old."

"Um, excuse me, but wasn't that me," she began with a point over toward the stairs, "with the attractive show of tears and mucus for all to see? I don't think my compassion should be scrutinized here."

He rolled his eyes. "Just stop saying it."

"What do you prefer I say? Anatomically-challenged?"

"Anything's better than that word."

"Alright, alright, I'll try not to use it. Happy?" she asked while holding a smile at bay. Outside of her dreams, she didn't think she would ever again talk to Luke, much less argue with him. Looking back at her was Luke, minus the flesh and bones, but everything else about him was perfect. Since so much of him was left behind after death, she couldn't help but think that some heavenly pardon might be given just that once that'd allow him a second chance at life. Even if it had to be in someone else's body. If that could be an option, she knew she'd take it. She'd take anything. As long as she could feel his presence, she'd find a way to work around the physical disparities.

"Are you just planning to sit there all night?" he asked warily.

"Maybe."

"Well, that makes a lot of sense."

She smiled. "Just happy to see you."

"You're making me self-conscious."

She smiled wider. "We'll have to test this out, you know. You'll have to tell me something that I never knew and never had any way of knowing and then we can see how much of this is my imagination."

"It's not your imagination. It's real; it's weird; I'm here; just accept it."

"What's your middle name?"

"I've told you that before."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did. Knowing that you didn't bother to remember is actually a little insulting."

"When was this?"

"Hell if I know. You asked me for it and I gave it to you."

"Our exchanges are never that simple. That's how I know that it never happened."

"You asked me a hundred times, and to shut you up, I gave it to you. Better?"

"More believable."

"You want it again?"

She paused in brief thought. "Scott."

He looked surprised. "You remembered."

Her smile faded but she tried to stay relatively casual. "It was on the obituary."

Taken aback, he shuddered. "You have no idea how strange it is to hear that. I have an obituary." It didn't fare well the second time around either. "Wow."

When more than one memory of the funeral day started to crowd her current thoughts, she shook them away and offered another question. "What was your favorite baseball team?"

"Do you know any teams offhand?"

She nodded. "Redsox, Braves, Knicks, and Yankees."

He smiled. "Knicks is basketball. So, you know three?"

She tried to conjure up more and couldn't. "Yeah."

"It's one of the ones you named, and that's something you can guess. If you want to do this, ask something that's a determiner. Not something you can make excuses for later."

"_Okay_, _okay_, Bossy…" She caught his smile and formed one herself before looking down to her multi-colored socks, easily seen with her feet crossed under her thighs. "Name all girlfriends starting from high school onward. Liz'll vouch."

She looked up at him. Saw him roll his eyes.

"Let's go with a combination safe. The one in my apartment. It's the best and the sturdiest, and since I didn't have it written down anywhere, I can bet that no one's been able to get inside. You can give it to my sister."

She frowned. "Sure. If you want to go the boring route, we can go with that suggestion."

That got another smile out of him. "Ready?"

She waved it away with disinterest. "Just write it down someplace. I'll get it."

"If I was able to _write it down someplace_, I'd just make a trip across town and tell her myself. But for the first time ever, I'm pretty sure she'd actually have a reason for not hearing anything I say to her."

Lorelai grumbled like she was being asked to do something grueling. She got up and got a stack of post-its and a pen. "Okay, shoot."

He fired it off, she wrote it, and then dropped the items to the coffee table as she reclaimed her previous position.

"So," she started as she got comfortable and got the hair from her face. "You've tried touching things?"

"What do you mean?"

"Objects. Things. Pens and stuff. You've tried already?"

"You think I determined on my own that I wasn't capable?"

"I have no idea."

"Yes, Lorelai, I've tried."

She looked down at the few things on the coffee table. "Did you concentrate?"

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

She smiled. "Well, on _Ghost_, at first he couldn't-"

"Don't even think about having me try something you saw on some movie. I'm dead, Lorelai. And this isn't being scripted by somebody's imagination. I'm not about to practice a telekinetic routine with you for your next dinner party."

She stared at him momentarily. "I thought you said you didn't like that word."

He rolled his eyes. "Not saying it isn't going to make it any less true," he said peevishly. "What difference does it make?"

She sighed and fell quiet. She looked away and then nodded absently at his sincere and weak words of apology. "What's it like anyway?"

He stared at her. "It's fabulous. You should be so lucky to be as dead as me," he mocked.

"Stop being snippy to me."

"I'm not trying to."

"I know, but you are, and it's losing its charm."

"Ready to kick me out?"

"_Can_ I kick you out?"

"Of course you can. I can go away."

She rolled her eyes to her lap. "I don't want you to _go away_. Just…be a little nicer."

He snorted. "Nice. Have I ever been _nice_?"

She met his skeptical expression with calm and gravity. "You were great," she said simply.

The way he rolled his eyes made it look like he thought she was full it. But that wasn't how he felt at all. "I don't know why I'm acting like this, Lorelai. I just feel so frustrated."

She nodded. "Then, there's your reason," she followed peacefully. He met her eyes, and she smiled.

His tone became so confiding. "Believe it or not, I had a lot of stuff I still wanted to do. And now…"

She looked at him with sorrow. He paused and they shared silence. Slowly, he smiled. "Kinda makes me wish I'd had a kid or two."

That brought on a lazy and genuine smile from Lorelai. "You're wishing for jam hands? Man, this death thing must really be something else." She followed that with a wink and was delighted to see him smile bashfully.

He shrugged. "I don't know; I'm just…wishing for more, I guess."

"More?"

"Yeah. Just…more."

"A someone?" she inquired.

"Maybe."

She considered that. "Someone whose life would've stopped when you died?" He didn't say anything. She looked at him and continued with a soft shrug. "Someone who would probably wake up every day with…insurmountable pain because you didn't just _un-die_ overnight?"

"I'd never wish that on anyone."

"Kind of comes with the package when you care about somebody."

"Well…still, I'd never wish that on anybody."

She looked off. "Well, tough. That's what you got." She created a smile. "And look, you didn't even have to sleep with me and give me a baby to get it! You're good, mister."

He looked at her so hard, it made her divert attention more than once. "It's just so surreal…and…not right…to die with these many regrets," he shared slowly and thoughtfully.

Lorelai shifted her body and tried to shuffle building sadness. "Well, um…" Her voice shook. She cleared her throat and smiled kindly. "You had me for a friend. You definitely did something right."

He rewarded that silly sentiment with a lopsided grin. "Yeah, that's something I can be proud of."

She nodded. "Exactly," she followed softly as most her focus went into the strong eye contact they made.

"I'm kinda scared," he said quietly.

She had never held him. Had never even come close. And she wanted nothing more than to do that in that moment…a moment when it absolutely couldn't be done.

"I really wish you wouldn't be," she replied just as quiet. She waited a beat and went on. "I'd like to think the hard part is over for you. Now, all you have to do is…_cross over_, I guess, I dunno how it works," she said with soft chuckles. She looked down to her fingers. "People come in this world and leave so fast sometimes that…this can't be what it's all about. Maybe this is our waiting room, you know?" She looked at him again. Stared so long and so affectionately that he thought she was done speaking. "And when it's our time, we walk up, and…they pull back the velvet rope and…" She smiled as tears came in her eyes. "Just think about who's on the other side already, Luke. There's your mom. And your dad," she added with her voice unintentionally dropping to a whisper as tears automatically fell. Enriching, soft laughter came. "And your _Uncle Louie_."

Fighting emotions of his own, Luke almost choked out a laugh at the unexpected addition. "Oh, _jeez_," he moaned in agony.

She laughed harder. He did too. She happily wiped the tears away. "See. It's uphill from here, Hon. You just have to find the way."

He found comfort in the sudden lightness he felt. "Is that all?"

"That's all," she answered endearingly.

He had a smile that seemed to want to stay now. "And what if I just want to stay here with you?" he asked with something that sounded like flirtation.

She focused on the table with a subdued smile. "Then…you stay here with me."

He laughed. "At least until they grab you with the butterfly nets, huh?"

She nodded hugely. "Yes, when the butterfly nets come, then it'll officially be time for you to split. Do I have your word on that?"

He shook his head, no.

She sighed like the situation was bigger than her. "Guess I'll live with it. Be glad I like you." She started rising. "And you're the most attractive _off-limits-word_ guy I know. So, there's that."

"Gee, thanks."

She walked over to him. She paused in front of him and then carefully sat down next to him on the couch. Only a few inches away. Closest she'd been to him since the night on the sidewalk. She looked him over nervously but attentively, noticing that he still looked existent.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She took a deep breath. "We may as well get this out of the way. I'm going to wonder until I know for sure."

"Wonder what?"

She looked him over some more. "If I threw a glass of water on you if I'd just be messing up my floor."

Finally understanding, he still chose to focus on the less significant part. "Why would you be throwing water on me?"

"Well, water always precedes the face slap and the storming off," she said rationally.

He frowned. "Why are you slapping me?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you called me a jezebel."

"I've never even _used_ the word jezebel," he protested.

"Even worse. Your hurled insult was premeditated. That water glass has just been upgraded from an eight ounce to a ten ounce."

He gave up. "Good grief," he mumbled.

"Hold your hand out, Charlie Brown. This is our unchained melody."

"I told you I can't."

"So show me."

"Jeez," he whispered. He held his hand in front of himself. "Yeah, let's make this weirder. Why not?"

"Complain, complain, complain. You're my Luke alright." She brought her hand closer to his. "Are you ready?"

"Sure."

She could feel her heart race as she moved her hand over his. Her trembling fingers failed to hit flesh and only moved through his. She retracted slowly as she stared at his familiar, slender fingers, which once again looked real and concrete.

He lowered his hand to his lap and managed to hide the air of disappointment, which he knew better than to even have. "I told you."

She looked in his face. "Did you feel anything?"

"Like what?" he asked cautiously.

"Anything. Like any change in sensation."

He relaxed. "Oh. No." He looked at the front and back of his hand as he flexed his fingers. Then, he met her eyes. "Why, did you?"

She half-shrugged, half-nodded. "I think so. Like a tiny tingling."

"Really?" he asked with skepticism.

She looked at her hand. "Yeah."

Luke doubted that very much. "Close your eyes."

She looked at him again. "Why?"

He sighed with impatience. "Close your eyes and tell me when I touch your hand."

"Oh." She blinked a few times before she closed her eyes fully. He watched her place her hand out, and he didn't move.

"Do you feel that?"

Her brows creased in concentration. She was hesitant to answer. "No…"

He glanced at her hand and then her face. Still didn't move. "That?"

She froze completely in order to focus harder. She pouted that time. "No."

He reached over with his index and made the slightest contact to the back of her hand. Her back straightened in awareness. "I think I felt something just now. Did you touch me?" she asked quickly with her eyes still shut tight.

Luke paused as he looked at her with a disbelieving, baffled expression. He shook that off and eyed her hand distrustfully. "Feel that?"

Lorelai seemed anxious and ready to give a positive response. She waited about five seconds before disappointedly giving a, "No."

He took all fingers and ran them down her arm. She gasped and froze again. "I definitely felt that." She opened her eyes to him.

Luke wore the face of someone determined to explain away the unexplainable. He made no effort to hide his cynicism. "Where'd you feel it?" he asked.

She used her finger to point to the very areas. "Right here the first time and right along here the second time. Going towards my wrist."

His quest for reasoning wasn't proving to be all that effective. He still held onto his expression. "You sure you weren't peeking?"

She smiled, excited to know she'd been right. "I'm sure. So, you only touched me those two times?"

"Yeah…"

She looked down at his hand, still overly happy. "Wow. I wonder why you can't feel anything."

After all of the unexplained occurrences, that comment was what made Luke look at her like she'd flipped her lid. "I don't know, Lorelai. Maybe my being six feet underground has something to do with it."

She glared at him.

He ignored it. "What does it feel like again?"

Easily hopping back into her good mood, she said, "I told you. It's a tingling."

"Good tingling or bad tingling?"

She gave him an incredulous stare. "Kinda hard to see any of this as bad even if it was, Luke." Breaking contact, she answered, "But it's just a tingling. Not good or bad. Feels like a limb waking up after it's been asleep."

"Sounds bad."

"Sounds _awesome_," she contradicted stubbornly.

He rolled his eyes. "We're not doing it again. I could be…giving you cancer or something."

"My god," she mumbled as she sat back and got comfortable. "Anybody ever tell you that you need to lighten up?"

"Thanks to this new death diet I'm on, I'm 180 pounds lighter, so I'd say I'm about as light as I'm going to get."

Lorelai sighed. "Tasteless humor, Luke. Very unfunny."

"Pardon me. The old wit just ain't what it used to be."

She looked over at him. "Have you seen me undress?" she asked suddenly.

His quick comebacks got cut off at the pass. "Seen you _what_?"

She found amusement in the deep red color in his cheeks. "With all the popping up you've been doing over this last week, I was wondering if maybe you've found yourself on the inside of a locked door or two."

"I can't beli—you know what? I'm not going to even answer that," he declared.

She smirked. "Your choice," she followed smoothly as she turned away.

He held off as long as he could before he broke. "But the answer is no!" he assured loudly. He didn't appreciate the quiet laughter from her. "You think I'm a voyeur now? What's wrong with you?"

"It was just an innocent question."

"Yeah, right. Like you didn't do that on purpose."

She smiled widely. "I have no clue what you mean."

"This thing you're doing, I know you think it's cute, but it's really not."

"Oh, come on. It's a little cute, isn't it?" she asked cajolingly as she regarded him.

"Jeez."

She chuckled and decided to give him a break. "Okay, I've had my fun." She reached for the remote and flipped the TV on. "I'll make it up to you. Tell me what game is on what channel, and I'll order pizza and eat while I ask you a million technical questions about it. Sound good?"

He didn't have to consider that for long. He accepted. "Yeah, I guess."

"Good." She flipped to the channel he instructed her to and then stood up to retrieve the phone. "I'll even get the pizza with low fat cheese because I know that'll make it easier for you watch me eat it."

He smiled and shook his head. "I'm touched."

"Mmhm, it's no problem at all. I'll just get them to double up on it so the calories aren't sacrificed," she added.

Luke held his tongue and kept watching the TV, choosing not to take the bait.

_**TBC…**_


	2. Til My Heart's Content

Til My Heart's Content

_**February 21, 2005**_

Sitting at the bottom of the stairwell, Luke couldn't help but laugh as Lorelai barreled through the front door and rushed inside like the house was on fire and she had heirlooms to save.

Shopping bags in her hands, she sighed and dropped them at her feet as she spotted him sitting there patiently.

"Jeez," he muttered.

She breathed heavily. "There was traffic. I would've been back sooner."

"You've only been gone for two hours," he pointed out calmly.

"I _know_," she said with inflection. "If it wasn't for the stupid traffic, it wouldn't have taken so long."

He tried to pull her sane side aside. "Lorelai, when have you ever spent only two hours at the mall? I can't believe you. I've told you-"

"Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. I was there."

He gave her a warning with his eyes causing her to smile sweetly before she went and threw herself onto the couch.

"I've told you," he began again, "to _stop doing_ that. You're going to get in an accident rushing back to an empty house."

She put her feet on the coffee table. "How is it empty when you're here? You're not a very bright ghost man, are you?"

"It's an empty house," he repeated obstinately. "And it's been twelve days. I'm not going anywhere! For the last time, stop rushing back here."

She touched her warm face gently with the back of her hand. "What, pray tell, makes you think I'm rushing back here for _you_? Maybe I'm expecting a phone call. You don't know."

He rolled his eyes and looked at her slumped form on the sofa. "Feeling better?"

"Than what? I was never feeling bad."

"You're hoarse and your throat is bothering you because you keep popping those candy things."

"They're not Sucrets, Luke. I just told you that so you wouldn't worry. They're actually 'shrooms. Since being drug-free is causing me to hallucinate, I figured I'd try the alternative."

He ignored her. "You should go to the doctor."

"Stop being paranoid."

"Make a doctor's appointment."

"You touched me like two weeks ago and now you think I'm going to start a plague."

"Well, that's just stupid."

She laughed. "Or better yet, you think that I'm, what, carrying your alien child? Is that it?"

He talked monotonously over her ongoing laughter. "Is that supposed to be funny?"

"If it's anything, it's a cold," she managed to get out. "Chill."

"I'd feel better if you had a doctor confirm that."

She stared ahead with a grin and a faraway look. "Oh, Lucas, wouldn't it be great if we could have our own little Casper?"

"I have no idea how I always manage to get caught up in these scenarios with you."

"At least the birth won't hurt as bad as the first time. That's a plus."

"Doctor's appointment tomorrow," he said in a stern voice.

She sighed, relented without voicing anything. "I'm starving. What did you cook?"

He looked away with an eye roll.

Both looked toward the front door at the same time when there was noise. "Mom! I'm home!"

Lorelai looked at Luke strangely, trying to determine if Rory had told her she was dropping by. She realized that she hadn't. She and Luke shared a smile as Lorelai raised her hand in the air and wiggled it to draw attention.

"Over here, Loin Fruit!"

Rory came in. "Hey, I-" She stopped short of tripping over the heap of shopping bags. "When'd you go shopping?"

"Just got back, actually. I got a scarf for you. It goes with that shirt with the little thing-a-ma-bobs on it that you hardly ever wear."

She made her way to the couch. "Wow, thanks. I knew the soul mate for the thing-a-ma-bob shirt was out there somewhere."

Lorelai leaned her cheek into Rory's kiss. "And I bought shoes."

"What kind of shoes?" she asked as she plopped down next to Lorelai with a sigh.

"Any shoe that fit. I bought 'em all. I love shoes."

Rory nodded. "You _do_ love shoes," she agreed solemnly.

Lorelai frowned. "But I hate feet."

Again, Rory nodded. "You _do_ hate feet."

She smiled affectionately. "Good thing they made shoes to cover them."

"Bless all the cobblers."

"Especially peach," Lorelai added.

"Most definitely peach."

"And apple crisp."

"And blueberry, too," Rory threw in.

"Can't forget blueberry. Steaming hot blueberry."

"With milk. Don't forget the milk."

"Oh, of course milk. Whipped cream, too. Gotta have the whipped cream."

"Yes, yes, of course. It'd be beside the ice cream and jimmies."

"That would be the very best spot."

"Perfection."

"Right in front of the fudge. Would fudge be overdoing it?" Lorelai asked thoughtfully.

Rory smiled dreamily. "Fudge would be great."

"Ooh, and cherries."

"Wait, what are we putting all this on?"

Lorelai looked like she was on cloud nine. "_Everything_, Rory. Everything."

They both moaned in contentment as they shared that imagery. Long seconds went by.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me right now," Luke's jaded voice rung out from the stairs.

Lorelai snapped out of it and a tiny smile broke out across her face. She took her eyes from the sweet feast over to Luke without turning her head.

"Anyway, Honey," she began as a means of ignoring him. She redirected focus. "What's with the always-welcome surprise visit?"

Rory crossed her legs and arms simultaneously. "I just had to get away. Paris and Janet were screaming so loud, windows were cracking. And after enduring three equally loud arguments already today, I needed a break."

"Aw, my poor baby," Lorelai cooed as she welcomed Rory to lie against her. When she did, she began stroking her hair. "Who knew you'd have to go to college to experience your first bout with domestic dysfunction?"

She sighed. "So, you're off today?" she asked tiredly.

"Mmhm."

"You should have called me. I could've used a ditch day. And the mall would have been a nice distraction. A movie, too."

Lorelai looked over at Luke as she continued rubbing Rory's hair. He stared at the two of them fondly. "I'm sorry, Babe. Didn't think you'd be free."

Rory hugged her mom like she needed to soak up as much love as possible. "I think I'm going to skip my last class today. I just want to stay here with you."

Lorelai laughed. "I'd love it if you stayed here with me, Sweetheart." She kissed her hair. "Are you okay?" she asked just to be sure.

"I'm okay," she mumbled, making it clear she wasn't.

"Alright, spill."

Rory stared ahead at the blank TV screen. "I had coffee today, and it _sucked_," she revealed miserably.

"Hon, I'm sorry." She never stopped rubbing her hair. "Where'd you get it?"

"At that stupid kiosk."

"The one we approved?"

Her head nodded. "It _sucked_," she said again.

"Well, every now and then, they may have a day where they're off their game. Seems pretty unfair to drag the coffee into that, but-"

"All the coffee sucks. It sucks all the time now. I went in the diner the other day."

That surprised Lorelai. "Really? You didn't tell me that."

"I know. But Lane was in there, and I just…did it. Pulled off the band-aid." She sighed. "Everything's the same. Felt the same. Caesar's doing a great job. He poured me coffee, and it tasted the same."

"That's great."

"Yeah. Still managed to _suck_," she sulked. "How is that possible?"

Lorelai glanced at Luke whose head hung towards the floor now. "Sounds like you miss him, Sweetheart."

Her lip went out sadly. "How long before this ends? This ache. Is this something that's supposed to just be around forever?"

"It'll get better," she said quietly. "Just give it time."

"Do you think I…we have a right to feel this much pain? I mean, we weren't related to him, and when people ask, I don't even know how to explain why I'm feeling this way over a month later. Who wouldn't look confused with the teary-eyed idiot going, 'Uh yeah, over a month ago there was a death in my, uh, ya know, _town_.'

Lorelai smiled. "Screw them. And screw having to explain to insignificant peers what's in your heart. Luke was there for you, he cared for you very much, and he showed that. Even from behind the counter of his business. Not to mention everything he did for this fatherless household. Don't apologize for having him in your heart, Rory. You have just as much right to grieve as anyone else."

Rory took a second to process that and then she smiled and held her mom tighter. "It's so weird. Knowing that really doesn't mean as much as having _you_ say it."

Lorelai laughed lightly. "That's because I'm Mom."

"The best."

She squeezed her. "Because of that fabulous compliment, I'm not even going to bother getting on you for skipping this last class of yours," she prodded.

Rory smiled in coyness. "I'll get the notes, I promise."

She kissed the side of her head. "As proud as you've made me, you've earned a hundred skips. It's high time you started cashing in anyway."

Rory leaned away and confided openly. "It's so good to see you back to your old self. If I'm ever lost, I look to you, and…" She gestured at her, "This is great. I missed this. You seem so good…and I need that," she said with a happy smile as tears came to her wide cerulean-colored eyes.

Lorelai matched her smile before quickly waving away the sentimental show. "Okay, you. Shoes off. Go upstairs and find something comfortable to wear and we're going to make this a junk food fiesta night to remember. I'll run to the video store. What do you say?"

"I say that's just what I need." She hopped up and headed for the stairs. "Have you done laundry?" she asked over her shoulder.

Lorelai stood up. "Nope. You may end up having to wear one of my evening dresses. Don't worry, if that happens, we'll just make it a themed night. _To Wong Foo_."

"Sounds good to me," Rory said with laughter before bolting upstairs.

Lorelai watched as she disappeared and then her eyes went back to Luke who had stood and moved close to the wall to allow Rory free passage.

They stared, and she held a warm smile. "Any video preferences?" she asked quietly.

He shifted. "Maybe I should just leave you two-"

"You're not going anywhere," she stated with conviction. She checked again to make sure Rory hadn't appeared before she focused on him again. "So, once again, any preferences?"

He sighed and decided against arguing with her. "Just…nothing too chick flicky." He paused and recalled with annoyance, "Had enough of that last night with that Sleepy in Seattle movie you made me watch."

She winked at him and yelled words back to Rory, who was calling down to her.

"Alright, Babe, I'll be back in a little bit!"

"Okay, Mom!"

She kissed her hand and let it go toward Luke in a gesture that seemed strangely natural. "Don't go anywhere," she ordered in a whisper.

He nodded and smiled. As he watched her rush to the door, he sat down sluggishly and listened to Rory clamor around upstairs. Her words echoed through his head, and while, it made him happy to know he'd actually made an impact on someone so special, he felt much sadness realizing that this really was it. He was gone forever. Gone from her life and everyone else's.

Being around Lorelai tended to obscure that small detail. He was gone and lives were affected. The guilt he felt was undeserved but it was there, nonetheless, and at that moment, he wanted nothing more than for Lorelai to hurry back. His link to the living. His rock. He needed her back as fast as humanly possible.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 21, 2005**_

"Achoo!"

"Oh, gross! Nice job sneezing straight into the popcorn bowl!"

Lorelai grinned as she picked up a handful and proceeded to pack her mouth. "We're family," she said while chewing and talking. "We've been sharing germs for years." She held the bowl out to Rory who sat to her left. "You don't want to insult me, do you?"

Rory pushed it away without hesitation. "Stop before I catch your cold."

Lorelai wiggled her toes on the coffee table and stared ahead at the movie with delight. "My what?" she asked.

Rory leaned forward and grabbed her soda. She sat back, once again overlapping her shoulder with her mom's. She didn't even bother questioning her on why she sat so close on the spacious couch. "Your cold," she repeated.

"Hm. Cold, you say?" Lorelai popped more popcorn into her mouth and casually looked to her right, toward the kitchen. "So, _that's_ what this is," she concluded in surprise.

Luke sighed and didn't even bother looking away from the television. "Appointment tomorrow," he reiterated.

She turned away with a smile, unable to give him the attention she wanted to. She bounced up and down on the middle cushion where she sat as soon as her eyes fell to the TV again. "Oh, here's my part!" she said of the movie. She waited anxiously for her cue then belted out the note. "_You okeeehhhhh_!"

Rory bopped her head.

"_Smoke some whiskeyyy; smoke some wiiiine_…"

"We've got to learn the words one day, Mom."

Lorelai chuckled and relaxed again. "Now we read somewhere that Mark Wahlberg actually did do a little of his own stuff, but that Tyketto dude—sings that song '_she's gone out of my life; I was wrong; I'm to blame_' she sung dramatically before jumping back to commentary. "He helped out. Now, originally, Rory and I-" She stopped all at once, catching herself. She'd been looking at the screen, so as not to miss the rest of the stage scene but her head was turned in Luke's direction.

Luke watched her bite her lip and slowly turn to the other side.

When Lorelai met Rory's eyes, Rory's always accommodating look seemed to suggest she hadn't even been paying attention. That went out the window in no time.

"Hey, don't let me interrupt."

Lorelai smiled.

"Who in the world are you talking to?" she followed with her belated incredulity.

"Uh oh."

She had to stop herself from responding to Luke.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "The Secret Service people, of course!" she responded.

"_What_?" she followed naturally.

Lorelai tapped her right ear with her finger. "Chip. In my ear. I have to report back and give updates otherwise, they send these men in black suits and raybans and flasher eye thingies to-"

"Oh, brother." Rory rolled her eyes in exhaustion, seemingly willing to chalk yet another thing up to her mom being the one and only Lorelai Gilmore.

Lorelai took the microscopic opening and didn't wait for her kid's brilliant mind to further process. "—Look, I get lonely in this big house, okay! Is it so wrong for me to embrace my inner child a little?" She looked away with a pout and ate a few popcorns like the big secret was officially out. "I guess you visit me so infrequently now since you have your own hoity-toity life, I forgot you were here when I reported in."

"That makes no sense, Mom."

Lorelai shrugged artlessly and kept her eyes on the screen. "What would've?"

Rory had no answer for that one. She sighed and ended up reaching in for a handful of germ-infested popcorn. "You might want to get back on your headset and tell them it was Steelheart. Not Tyketto. How'd you even get this gig?"

"How else? Fishnets and reasonable rates."

Rory leaned against the sofa arm and watched as Wahlberg played the role of a rock star while his family and girlfriend cheered their heads off in the audience. She watched and thought. Her question came from a place of deliberation.

"Mom, do have any regrets with Luke?"

"What kind of regrets?" she asked lightly while continuing to savor her snack.

Rory leaned her head back and looked up. "Do you wish you would have dated him…gave him a shot?"

Lorelai looked over at her. Not only was Luke still sitting beside her, but she could feel his presence as he sat there. She supposed it was more of a mental tick, being able to feel him. She knew when he was there, so that likely created the illusion.

He didn't say anything in that silence, and she appreciated being unable to just look over at him with Rory there.

"Well…" She had to clear her throat when her voice sounded like that of a timid girl. She came back with volume and poise, two things she rarely lacked. "I feel like everything happens the way it's supposed to happen. Of course I'm not immune to the _what ifs_ of the world, but…regret?" She shook her head. "We were great friends, and I feel lucky to have known him. What's there to regret?" she asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, I guess." She thought about that for a long while. "You two could've been more, though."

Lorelai looked back into her bowl. "Maybe."

Rory smiled as she continued to look up. "It probably could've even worked out."

"Possibly."

She chuckled warmly at her next thought. "Stepdad Luke." She nudged her mom. "Nice ring?"

Lorelai smiled and nudged her back. "You tell me since you're so in a rush to drop Christopher like a bad habit."

That made her laugh. "Oh, come on, Mom. You know I love Dad."

"Really? Started feeling a little controversial in here."

"No controversy. Don't worry. We're talking an addition, not an erase and replace."

Lorelai sighed and tossed her head back too. "Yeah, your dad will always be your dad."

"Which is cool," Rory said judiciously.

Lorelai nudged her again and they met eyes and smiled softly and perceptively at the reminder of his precarious and still cherished role in her life. His faults were longer than the days spent counting his absences, but he'd always be defended. Cosseted yet furtively acknowledged by the two of them for what he really was: a disappointment.

Rory went on seconds later. "Kinda sucks Luke never procreated. He would've been an awesome dad."

"I agree," she added softly.

"Great protector. Excellent husband," Rory went on to say in a slow and thoughtful manner.

Lorelai's giggles came soon after. "Are you _crushing_ on Luke, Lorelai Leigh?"

"Oh my _god_," a deep voice groaned out in pain.

Lorelai's eyes floated over to her right in recognition of Luke's voice, and she looked back to Rory in the next second.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Do you really want me to say who I was thinking of just then?"

Lorelai sobered meekly, and her eyes floated once more before she looked into her bowl. "No," she said in short.

Satisfied, Rory went on with her philosophy. "What if somewhere out there in the world, Luke has a child that he doesn't know about?"

"Oh boy," Luke muttered. He stood up. "This is probably five minutes too late, but I'll be in the kitchen." Lorelai blinked, smiled faintly. "Stop the movie, will ya?" he said as he walked away.

Lorelai retrieved the remote and did just that. "You're, um," she began distractedly. She threw an involuntary glance over towards the kitchen. "You're giving Luke an illegitimate love child now?"

"It's not impossible," she answered breezily.

"Impossible, no. Improbable, most definitely."

"How many boyfriends have you broken up with and haven't seen since? I guarantee you could borrow Davey, go up to Alex and give him a heart attack."

"Luke would never be involved in a situation like that, Rory."

"It's just a thought," she defended. "And having a child he doesn't know about wouldn't mean he was a philanderer. It could just mean…he was a bad correspondent."

She chuckled and spoke with finality. "Luke does not have an illegitimate love child."

"He could," she followed, unflappable. "You probably just don't want to think about it. I hate to break it to you, Mom, but…before there was _never_ you, there were others."

Lorelai mumbled under her breath as she turned away. "This is a crazy discussion."

"If you say so."

"I do," she asserted. She pressed play. "Let's just-" She spoke louder "—start the movie back and drop unfavorable topics!" She saw out of the corner of her eye as Luke reentered the room.

Rory shook her head. "Thanks for announcing that-" She raised her voice as her mom had. "—oh so loudly! It's not like I'm sitting right beside you!"

Lorelai smiled and lowered the remote. She crossed her ankles out in front of her just as Luke sat down.

"I'm sure I'll just be forced to leave again in a few minutes, so I won't get comfortable."

Lorelai snickered, earning a quizzical sideways look from Rory.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 22, 2005**_

Lucky enough to be taken as an early morning walk-in, Lorelai was in and out of the doctor's office before 10:30.

On her way to pick up meds, she made an impromptu turn that took her further into town instead of toward the outskirts.

She moved side to side in the driver's seat as she drove along, windows zipped tight as she belted out Barry Manilow's Mandy. _"I'm_ _standing on the edge of time; I walked away when love was mine; caught up in a world of upward climbing; tears are in my eyes and nothing is private oh Mandy; well you came and you gave without taking; but I sent you away oh Mandy!" _

She picked up her phone and dialed home. Waited for the beep before lowering the volume. "Hey, Lu…" She paused and corrected. "…Lorelai," she stuttered out, knowing those kinds of chances couldn't be taken even though she lived alone. "Um, this is you…of course. Just calling to let you know you're just as awesome today as you were yesterday. And also, the _cold_ that was just confirmed by the doctor is probably going to clear up in a few days. Yep, that's what you have: _cold, cold cold_. Just like you previously said. And just like you told other people who were too stubborn to listen, but you'll get around to rubbing it in their face later, won't you? You don't shy away from the I-told-you-so's. No siree." She pulled over in front of Doose's. "Okay, gotta go. I'm stopping at the market now to get some stuff to flush out this lame virus. See you when I get home. Or when I look in a mirror. Bye!"

Lorelai jumped from the jeep and crossed the street with Barry still serenading her in her head. She walked inside and came close to bumping into Taylor.

She backed away and smiled. "Hey," she greeted. "Any chance you're running a buy one get one free on Flintstone's chewables? I have to stock up on vitamins after I get rid of this bug. Come to find out, your immune system depends on that kind of stuff. Go figure, huh?"

Taylor looked stiff. "Hey to you, too, Lorelai. Long time, no see," he said guardedly.

Her eyes shifted around the store. After avoiding the place for six weeks, she realized the magnitude of her being there. Standing there conversing like the Lorelai she was two months ago.

She hadn't given it much thought. She was headed home, and going out of the way to the larger chain store didn't seem very logical in the moment.

"Uh, yeah. It's been a while," she followed.

Taylor rubbed his hands together nervously. "How are you?" he asked. He said it like she was two seconds away from sticking her head in the oven.

"Good. Good," she answered with a nod. Suddenly appearing troubled, she went on. "If only I could figure out how to get that noose to hold, though…"

His eyes bugged, and blood drained from his face.

She smiled and spoke uniformly. "Taylor, I'm kidding. Breathe. Deeper. Little more. There you go." She, then, turned away like they'd had the greatest conversation. "Sick people aisle…sick people aisle…" she wondered aloud.

Taylor pointed her in the right direction. "You're actually in luck. There's a sale on that whole section this week."

"Yippy!" she enthused.

"And don't forget the Vapor Rub," he called out as he jumped back into his known role as unashamed and pushy capitalist. "You sound pretty stuffed up, and a jar of that salve—the bigger one so you can have plenty to spare—will make you better before you know it."

"Thanks, Taylor. I take it there's no personal gain that comes from that recommendation…"

"I just want you better, Lorelai. That's _all_," he proclaimed like the bad liar he was.

"That's very sweet of you," she praised artificially as she grabbed what she needed and headed to get groceries. "Just for that, I'll take the large jar. You've sold me."

He smiled in triumph.

"Of course you know that now you have to go fetch your cape and scepter and sing Old King Cole for my merry old soul. Nobody could do it better."

He turned and made his way to the registers. He took time to tidy up an already immaculate working space while waiting for Lorelai to finish up, who, right then, was the only customer in the store.

She hummed her way to the counter, appearing to have not one care in the world.

Taylor squinted. "What is that, Barry Manilow?"

She had a moment of panic and embarrassment. She couldn't very well remain a secret, _closeted_ fan if she went around humming love ballads for all to hear.

"Barry Manilow?" she repeated, aghast. "I may have heard a song or two from movies here and there, but I doubt any of them stuck…"

"Sounded like _Looks Like We Made It_," he said as he started ringing her up.

"No idea what you're talking about."

He smiled proudly. "I'm a Manilow fan myself, you know."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Of course you are, Taylor." Which was exactly why she'd never admit to being one herself.

He turned some oranges in his hand as he checked for the code. "It's good to see you," he remarked conversationally. "Glad to have you back in here," he added as he glanced up at her.

She nodded with a sigh. "Thanks." She looked down. "I'm planning to be at the town meeting this week," she revealed. "I know I haven't had the greatest attendance lately."

He nodded in concordance. "Well, they've been back in effect for three weeks. First week was, as you can imagine…"

"Yeah."

He started again with more vigor. "But it's picking back up. Slowly but surely." With a stern voice, he stated, "This week we're really getting down to business. It seems that ordinances in this town are becoming more like suggestions each and every day. Before you know it, we'll be just another city overrun by thugs and loose women."

"Lord forbid!"

"No offense," he said casually as he went about his business.

Lorelai glared at him, but still found amusement in his judgment of her anti-matrimonial lifestyle. "Well, I'll try to remember to leave my gat at home from now on," she avowed.

His lips tightened in disapproval. "Nice to know you haven't changed at all."

She smiled and took her eyes to the far wall. It was then she noticed what was there. The framed picture was the very one that'd been used on the obituary. A candid shot of Luke in _Luke's_ wearing the flannel that brought out his eyes. He was smiling at the camera. She had yet to ask but she assumed Rachel was the one holding the camera judging by the light in his expression that not a lot of people got to see. She could see the gold plate with his lifespan, along with a pretty standard RIP farewell message engraved there as well. Under that was a banner filled with messages and farewells. She could see only a few of them where she stood. Most were prolific and written in small script. But there were some with large lettering.

_We Miss You, Luke! Love…_

_We'll Never Forget you, Luke! Love…_

_The Town Will Never be the Same Without You, Luke! Love…_

With the long silence and the absence of quirky dialogue coming from her lips, Taylor looked up and took notice of what had her attention. He looked over his shoulder and became more humble than she ever knew he was capable of.

"Oh, yeah," he said with a weak point. "I figured that'd be something nice to do…"

She smiled. Felt a little sadness. Numbness had taken a vacation some time ago. "Yeah, it's really nice. Your idea?"

He nodded as he reached for the money she held out to him. "Caesar dedicated an entire wall…that he's letting people _actually write on_," he said with difficulty. His thoughts on how tacky that was couldn't even be voiced given the circumstances. "It's much more grandiose." The register popped open, and he finished with, "I wanted to do a little something as well. Thought it'd be befitting."

Lorelai took her receipt and change. She took a heavy breath and looked at Taylor with a smile. "Mind if I go sign?"

He pointed her over with enthusiasm. "No, not at all! Pens and markers are in the basket there."

She left her grocery items and approached the banner. Finally able to see the more extensive notes, she read over a few of them and felt herself swelling with emotions, a good portion of them being warm and tingly.

The man really was loved.

She set her pen to write.

_Every day I live and breathe, you're in my heart. Lorelai._

After snapping the cap back onto the pen, she dropped it back in with the others. She threw a casual "See ya!" at Taylor and got her things to go.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 22, 2005**_

Luke's reminders floated over from one day to the next, but it wasn't until Lorelai left Doose's market that she finally thought to go check the safe combination.

She glanced at the familiar _Luke's_ on the window and spent the rest of the journey from Doose's to the door of the diner staring at her feet.

The door's jingle sounded strange to her own ears. Customers looked up and those there seemed happy to see her. Apparently it hadn't gone unnoticed that she hadn't been in the diner for quite some time.

She remained in the open door. Greeted Patty's grin with a smile of her own. Nodded at Babette's endearing hello before responding in kind, and when Gypsy hopped up the two concrete steps behind her and jarred her with words of welcome and an immediate request to have her move out of the way, Lorelai chuckled, stepped to the side, and let her know she appreciated the kindheartedness.

Ones there that knew her and cared for her on a personal level were the ones that stared the longest while smiling with their eyes. Patrons turned back to their food and friends, and Babette yelled out a request for her to try the frozen banana, the new simple menu addition that everyone was crazy about.

Lorelai assured that she'd grab one on the way out, and for the first time, she took in the atmosphere. The wall Taylor had told her about was eye-catching. There didn't appear to be much room for additional scribblings. From the looks of it, there were hundreds upon hundreds of signatures and short messages around the huge _Luke's: Always and Forever_ written in the center.

She planned to sign that wall as well. The one that was more official and special. But as crowded as the place was and as much attention as she'd drawn when she stepped inside, she knew if she did it then, there would be countless eyes on her the entire time and at least a couple that would boldly scramble up soon afterwards to see what she'd written. She decided to do it later.

Her attention went to the counter, and before she could catch herself, she'd already started trying to search out the blue baseball cap and flannel. When she spotted Caesar coming from the back to pour coffee as Luke used to, she felt the brief jolt of pain that started in her chest, made itself into a knot in her throat, and then fizzled away as she remembered Luke waiting for her at home.

Whether he was a part of her imagination or not, she needed him there. The alternative was a nightmare.

Caesar lit up when he saw her. "Hey, Lorelai! What are you—It's so good to see you!" he said stumbling over words.

She walked over with warmth and water in her eyes. "Hey, Hon," she greeted kindly. She made it to the counter and leaned in. "The place looks great," she complimented.

He sighed and looked around before meeting her eyes and shrugging weakly. "I'm trying, you know?"

She winked. "Well, I've heard nothing but good things. In fact, if the word around the streets is at all reliable, the coffee is still legendary. Why don't you get me a Grande to go, boss man?"

He ducked his head at the label. "Coming up," he told her.

"Thanks." She pointed over to her right. "Gonna run to the bathroom. I'll be back."

"Okay."

Instead of going into the facilities, Lorelai changed direction at the last second and started upstairs. The door to his apartment was locked.

"Crap," she muttered. She tried to peer through the glass but couldn't. After looking around the hallway aimlessly for a few seconds, she reached her fingers over the door and felt around. The key was lying under cobwebs, which Lorelai quickly brushed away with a shudder. "Gross."

She wasted no time inserting the key and going inside. It being so early in the day, the bright outside light made manmade lights unnecessary so she was able to take in all there was to see without searching for lamps.

She hadn't been up to Luke's apartment since Jess left, so she wasn't able to determine Luke's mess from the one Liz may have made in trying to handle various affairs.

The kitchen was relatively clean. Just a bowl and a few glasses on the counter. An entire dresser drawer had been removed and was positioned on a chair by the coffee table. Papers, pictures, and books had been pulled from the drawer and piled on the table. She went over and looked down on them.

There were a lot of letters. Rachel's name caught her eye on more than one envelope. She moved on and glanced in his bedroom where everything was tidy and in place. She quickly made her way to the safe next to the couch and kneeled before it.

The numbers were in her purse. Had been for almost two weeks. She turned the dial, locking in the numbers given and it creaked right open.

With a few slow breaths, she attempted to tame her always anxious heartbeat. With the inside of Luke's personal vault exposed, it was official. His appearance wasn't a show of her instability. He was real. As real as an apparition could be, anyway.

She closed it back instantly and turned the knob to clear the numbers.

Her intention was to leave. But when she stood and glanced into his bedroom again, she found herself going in. She opened his top drawer, closed it when she found socks and boxers. Opened the next one, closed it when she found undershirts and sleeveless tanks. Opened the third, and allowed her quickened pace to slow. She paused and took time to just look.

There, she found flannels. Only a few. The rest were probably set to be washed before that night happened. She reached in and pulled out the one with green and red and skinny lines of grey. The familiar smell hit her nose before she brought it there. She held it to her face and breathed like it was oxygen. And only when she felt so overwhelmed that feelings of lightheadedness came into play, did she drop her hands, bringing the tightly gripped flannel to her chest.

With eyes closed, she spent a few minutes just remembering. There were times when that smell had secretly made her feel peace in times of stress and comfort when there was nothing but chaos around her. Before the world proved just how much it could suck, she came to the diner daily. It was home away from home. She thought it was the diner that brought her peace and comfort. And if Luke hadn't died, and she hadn't come into that very diner and felt a constriction worse than that brought about by the Gilmore mansion—it only being ameliorated with thoughts of Luke waiting at the crapshack—then she would have went on with that naiveté.

Now, she knew better.

She scanned the contents of the drawer before reaching in and swiping the two remaining flannels. She looked all over her person for a place to stash them and after the third time of unsuccessfully trying to stuff them in her teeny tiny purse as if it'd realize her dilemma and expand itself, she came upon a fast plan B. She took off her jacket, folded all three flannels lengthwise at the collar, hid them all behind her jacket and laid the bundle across her arm.

She took inventory of the bulkiness and tried to mash it down as much as possible. With a passive shrug, she turned attention to the rest of the apartment. She made sure everything was the same as she'd found it, and then she left and put the key back amongst the broken cobwebs.

"Hey!" Caesar said to her when she was back in the diner. "I thought you'd taken off already."

She shook her head. "No, I got a call so I took it in there. You know Luke and cell phones," she said knowingly. He nodded and smiled and then pointed out the sign that would remain in place.

"Rules are rules," he followed regretfully. "So, good thing you took it in there."

Lorelai looked for a while at the sign that had been tapped and pointed out by Luke more times than she knew. It would be no fun at all taking calls in the diner without him there to rant and rave at her. She supposed this would mark the day where she'd finally start respecting that leading rule.

"Large coffee, right?" asked Caesar, causing her to snap back to the present.

"Uh, yeah, largest you've got." She nodded, feeling nervousness at having Luke's coffee for the first time since there was no Luke to serve it. Thinking of her earlier promise, she added, "Oh and a frozen banana!"

Caesar beamed. "You heard about that, huh?"

She nodded happily. "Mmhm. You can thank that nice lady right over there," she said with a turn and point toward Babette and Morey's table. Babette looked up and Lorelai smiled. "Ordering my banana," she revealed to her.

"The good kind or the-"

Lorelai cut her off as fast as she could. "The frozen, edible kind!"

"So…stiff and edible, huh?"

"Let it go, Babette." She shook her head and laughed with a few other people who were unfortunately caught between where she stood and Babette's table.

Caesar got her order and waved her off with a sincere, "Hope to see you back in here soon."

She held up her coffee and winked at him.

"You're looking good, Dear."

"Thanks, Patty." She waved to her friends. "I'll be seeing you guys around," she announced and then exited the establishment.

They watched through the glass as she walked to her car, showing off a smile they hadn't seen in a long time as she waved and spoke to someone out of view.

"She looks great, doesn't she?" Patty wondered aloud.

"Of course, she does!" Babette screeched. "She's always smokin'!"

"She looks happy. That's what Patty meant. Right, Patty?"

Patty looked over at Gypsy. "I meant hot," she clarified curtly.

Gypsy shrugged. "Well, she's pretty in an _obvious_ way."

"No, she's not," Andrew disagreed. "Lorelai is classic beauty all the way."

"Classic and obvious," Gypsy mumbled.

"What difference does it make? She's a looker no matter what. And when I'm out of town on business, I never have any trouble getting gorgeous young men to take a second look at her photo."

"Does Lorelai even know that you pimp her out?"

"Pimping?" Babette asked with an immediate regard of Gypsy. "It's just a little advertising!"

"Yes, she knows. She caught me red handed some time ago," Patty admitted.

"And she lets you do it?"

"Of course not. She confiscated the picture as soon as she saw it. I had to get another one. Besides, I haven't done it in months."

"Lack of prospects, I bet."

She jumped on Gypsy's comment right away, proving its validity. "Where are all the gorgeous men hiding these days anyway?"

"You mean, other than in your basement?" Babette mused.

They laughed.

"Oh, she wouldn't want them. Poor things have been rode hard and hung up wet."

"Pun intended."

"Oh, _Honey_, always."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**February 22, 2005**_

"I'm home, House!"

"The house and I welcome you."

Lorelai immediately grinned at Luke's voice. "Did you hear my message earlier?" she asked as she entered the living room where he was. She spotted him on the laz-e-boy and felt her heart race when he looked up at her and smiled.

"Yeah," he answered casually. "I heard your message. It's just a cold; thank god."

"I _told_ you."

"I know. But at least it's official now. What'd you get at the store?"

She dropped her jacket and the lump behind it to the couch and opened her bag. "Some chicken soup, vitamins, ice cream, potato chips, chest stuff, and oranges."

He rolled his eyes. "four out of six isn't bad, I guess."

She shrugged and headed into the kitchen. "It's all for show anyway. This soup will be still here and ready to go at the next drive."

"Potato chips too?"

"No, not the chips. They deserve more respect than that."

"Your mom called," he yelled after her.

"You sure it was her? I'm usually forewarned. Demonic laughter and thunder didn't greet me at the door."

"Well, she left a message about a conflict this coming Friday. Said she'd have to move your dinner back an hour."

Lorelai groaned. "A cancelation would have been even better."

"One less hour. That's something."

"Yeah, I suppose."

She found him still seated comfortably when she emerged from the kitchen. She shot him a smile as she headed upstairs. "Hey, why do you think you can sit on furniture but can't touch things?" she yelled to him in curiosity.

"Who knows," he responded flatly.

"I think it's concentration. You're just not motivated enough."

"Doubt it."

"Maybe I should set up a robbery or an attack and see if you'd be able to swing a bat in my defense."

"You better not."

"It's okay. It'd be a set-up, so I wouldn't be in any real danger." She bounced back down the stairs. "Although, now you're on to me so I have to come up with some other kind of elaborate scheme."

"How about just leaving the schemes alone altogether."

"Where's the fun in that?"

He rolled his eyes. "Touching things isn't my main concern, Lorelai."

She sat down on the sofa and leaned onto the arm to study him. "What is your main concern?" she inquired.

There was a beat of silence as he looked around. "I don't know yet."

She looked him over. "You'll be sure to let me know when you figure it out?"

"You'll be the first to know."

She sat all the way back and sighed. "Excellent."

"So, did you check the safe?" She nodded, and that surprised him. After many days of asking that question, he was starting to get used to the negative answer. "And it worked, right?"

She nodded again.

They held eye contact.

"Any questions?" he asked evenly.

She cocked her head and asked inquisitively, "Why me, you think? Why not Liz or an ex that you're particularly fond of? I know you said you don't know, but in your opinion, why me?"

He allowed the silence to stretch as he thought on that. "Maybe because you were the last one I saw." He looked at her and watched her acceptance and deliberation on that fact. But he still went one further. "And you're the closest person to me these days." He scoffed. "Or _were_."

She smiled. "I think it's safe to say I still am."

He shrugged, smiled. "I guess."

Lorelai kept her eyes focused on his face, causing him to keep his attention elsewhere. She looked away when it _finally_ registered that she was making him uncomfortable. She let that revelation go with only a smile.

"Hey, I think it's only right to tell you that I lifted something from your apartment."

"Really? You're a thief now?"

"What gave me away? Did a ski mask fall out of one of my bank bags on the way in?"

He followed her with his eyes as she stood and walked to the back of the couch. "What'd you take?" he asked curiously.

She moved her jacket and held up one of the flannels shyly. He laughed, releasing some of her tension. "So, you're not mad?" she asked as she lowered it with care and caressed it absently with her fingers.

"Why would I be mad? Not like I'm gonna be usin' it anytime soon." He continued to smile as he watched her stand over the shirt protectively. "What are you going to do with it?"

"Them. I took three."

He laughed again. "Oh, sorry, _them_. What are you going to do with _them_?"

She looked down at them. "I don't know yet."

Luke couldn't stop laughing. He was truly amused and flattered beyond reason. He could have honestly sat there all day watching her stare at those shirts. "So, all this time you liked the flannel?" he asked teasingly.

"Well…you were flannel and flannel was you, so I adapted."

"How touching."

She sighed. "The only reason I told you about it was because you're sort of everywhere in here, and you probably would've seen them at some point and questioned me, so I did this to avoid…that awkward moment."

"Yeah, because _this_ isn't awkward," he taunted.

"It's not," she said easily. She squinted at him. "You think I'm ashamed?"

"Of course not."

"Because I'm not."

"That's what I just said."

"I'll even wear them if the mood strikes."

He held up his hands passively. "Hey, that's what I bought them for. Knock yourself out."

"I'm serious," she threatened.

He laughed more. "So am I."

"Naysayer," she mumbled.

"Jeez, I'm trying to tell you that I…" He watched in amusement as she slid both arms into his favorite flannel. She looked down at the buttons as she buttoned them up, and he studied her suspiciously, noticing as her breaths got heavier as her fingers worked. For seconds, he feared something was wrong with her. But when she finished with the buttons and brought her hands to her nose with the sleeves extended past her fingers, he saw that she was taking in the smell of the shirt.

He cocked his head.

"Now, if I was going to be ashamed of anything, it'd be this," she said, taking her hands away just long enough to get the words out.

He looked at her with question like he didn't know what to make of what he saw.

She couldn't help but smile as she watched him watch her breathe in his laundry like a junkie. "Kind of addictive," she shared simply.

His brow rose. "What does it smell like?" he asked dumbly.

She finally dropped her hands at her sides and rubbed the cuffs between her fingers gingerly. "You," she answered.

He went from showing no understanding at all to a smile and then to slow chuckles in the span of three seconds. "You're really special, Lorelai," he said softly.

"Special good or special bad?"

His smile widened. "Special like only you're capable of being."

"So, special good then!" she concluded.

He leaned his head back and kept grinning.

She moved around the couch, swaying side to side in the oversized flannel that hung to the thighs of her jeans. She sat in the middle of the couch and crossed her legs.

"You know, judging by your reaction," she began casually as she sniffed the arm of the flannel and rested her cheek against it adoringly, "one would be inclined to think there was something abnormal about all of this."

When Luke looked at her, she was smiling and rubbing her cheek along her hand like a kitten does its paw.

That image made him laugh, and his laughter made her laugh. She laid down and curled up with Luke's sound and smell surrounding her.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**March 9, 2005**_

A thick fog covered the bathroom. Lorelai's shower ran hot, and that was enough to put the bathroom under a complete sheet of invisibility.

She'd just gotten up, and little by little, she woke from the haziness of sleep as she loofahed the soapy globules of body wash into her skin.

Completely in her own world, concentrating on the task at hand, she was startled when a male voice echoed over the sprays of water. "Um…Lorelai?"

Immediately recognizing the intruder, she snatched the curtain back to get a visual. Only her head showed, and she kept the rest of herself hidden.

"Luke, what in the hell are you doing in here?" she asked bewildered.

He stood near the door, looking just as surprised as she was. He was barely able to make her out through the steam. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come in here."

"What do you mean you didn't mean to come in here?" she asked as she reached up to stop conditioner from sliding into her eyes.

He spoke loudly, anxious to prove his case. "I don't have any control over where I pop up in this house! I didn't think I'd appear in the bathroom with you in the shower!"

She broke out in a smile and her body relaxed for the first time since seeing him so unexpectedly. "Well, good thing I wasn't shaving my armpits over the sink. That would have been a little awkward."

He backed closer to the door. "Do you mind coming to let me out of here?"

She brought an arm out from behind the curtain and motioned to all that it still hid. "Kinda busy here, Luke."

He grew increasingly uncomfortable. "I won't look, of course!" He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Just come let me out of here!"

She frowned. "Use the door."

"I can't pick up the remote control to turn the TV, but sure, let me open the bathroom door…and go downstairs and move some furniture while I'm at it!"

She rolled her eyes back. "Hello, _Invisible Man_, walk through it!"

"I'm not walking through a damn door!"

"Have you tried?"

"_No_! I'm not walking through a damn _door_!"

"You mean to tell me you've been hanging around here for three plus weeks, and you haven't tried out your powers?"

"Oh my god."

"How is this the first time you're having this predicament?" she asked amusedly.

"Are you going to come let me out of here?"

"Luke, I'm naked."

He turned so red, it was a wonder the small space didn't get even more heated. "I can see that. That's why I'm trying to get out of here," he rationalized.

She let the curtain fall back in place and went back to what she was doing. "I'm sorry, Hon, but you're going to have to wait. I'll be done in a minute."

"_Jeez_!"

"Think of it this way, you get a chance to practice meeting your maker. Pretend the steam is the mystical smoke that surrounds the pearly gates. You have your speech ready?"

"Good god," he grumbled. "Can you hurry up please? This is weird."

"Would it be a little less weird if I was half dragon, moved about mysteriously, and acted as a seer while you gawked at my silhouette?"

"You almost done?"

"I've entered the rinsing stage."

"Good."

"I wish you'd relax."

"I'm relaxed. I'd just be more relaxed on the outside of that door."

"I've got to admit, it is a bit strange to have you standing on the other side of my shower curtain."

"With you naked," he added stressfully.

"And wet," she followed.

"_From your shower_," he clarified for her.

She laughed. "Sounds as if someone's mind is going to the naughty place."

"I don't know which someone that could be. This someone is only focused on getting out of here."

"Okay, okay, keep your pants on. I'm coming." She moved around under the showerhead. "Can your pants even come off?" she wondered curiously. "I mean, if you wanted to shed clothes, could you?"

"No, they're glued on," he answered with annoyance.

"Really?"

He ran his hand down his face. "No. They're regular clothes, Lorelai. But I'm not about to test a childish theory. For all I know, as soon as they leave my body, they disappear."

"Wow. That'd be a neat trick."

"Not really."

"Well, don't worry. I'd never put you at risk for permanent nudity." She shut the water off. "You might want to turn around."

He did immediately. "Okay."

She peeked around the curtain before stepping out of the tub and grabbing the towels she had waiting. The first she wrapped around her hair, and the second went around her body as she watched the back of Luke's head.

Covered from the thighs up, she reached a hand to the knob and pulled the door open. "Here you are, sir." She leaned her weight on the knob and smiled.

He turned and dashed out fast. If she blinked, she would've missed it.

"Yeah, go downstairs and _de-flush_. I'll be down in a minute."

She smirked and grabbed her toothbrush.

_**TBC…**_


	3. Shaping & Shifting

Shaping & Shifting

_**March 29, 2005**_

Sookie and Lorelai had just come from the bank of Hartford and had decided to try cuisine at a festively decorated mobile food business that Lorelai spotted on the way back. They were seated at a nearby outdoors table eating their lunch.

"This cheeseburger is absolutely delicious!" Sookie gushed.

Lorelai nodded while chewing her mouthful. Placing her napkin over her lips, she said, "We are coming here at _least_ once a week from now on!"

"You're going to drive to Hartford for a cheeseburger?" Sookie questioned laughingly as she took another bite.

"Unless they deliver. You think we can get Raoul to drive his food truck on down to Stars Hollow?"

"Wouldn't matter. Taylor would have him towed as soon as he put it in park."

"Well, that would certainly suck. Having to go all the way to the impound to get our food…Jeez."

"Mmm," she continued to savor. "Oh my god, it's so good."

"Definitely second best."

"With _Luke's_ being first, of course."

"_Luke's_ will always be number one. Legendary. But competition is getting stronger."

Sookie smiled widely as she regarded Lorelai biting into her burger again with her eyes closed in bliss. Used to be, any mention of the late town grump and cherished town figure would cause her to shut down. Even the former façade she had in place wouldn't be strong enough to carry her through any mention of the man.

Every day it was a struggle to keep from confiding to her the change she'd noticed. How Lorelai had gone from pretending to be okay to actually appearing that way. She didn't want to mention it for fear that bringing it to light would stunt the progression. And that wasn't an option. She figured one day, when more than enough time had gone by, they'd be able to look back and talk openly about everything, but for now, her friend seemed herself again. That was enough.

"Ahhh man," Sookie mumbled as she lowered her eyes and moved her lips less. "Guy approaching."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "For you or me?" she asked placing attention on her french fries.

"Path of drool headed toward you, thank god."

"Quick, let me borrow your wedding ring!"

"Get your own shield of protection!"

"Some help you are, former friend."

Sookie smiled and picked up her soda.

Lorelai felt someone come up on her left. "Hey, Ladies." She discreetly looked across the table at Sookie, showing no enthusiasm for the conversation that was about to take place. Sometimes guys boldly approaching was flattering, and more times than not, it was just a nuisance.

Sookie replied back. And after creating a smile out of kindness, Lorelai finally looked up at him and did the same. "Hello. What can we do for you?"

He looked between the two of them, giving her the majority of his attention. He wore a black canvas jacket over a white T-shirt. He was in jeans and wore brown and black timberland boots. With a full head of short curly brown hair, a dimpled smile, and violet/grey eyes that were stunning, it was a wonder to Sookie why Lorelai didn't care enough to change her phony approach.

The man was gorgeous. And didn't even come off pretentious. He actually looked pretty nervous standing before them.

"Sorry to interrupt," he began. "My name's Eric. I was just walking through the area. Had just come from the coffee shop across the street," he said with a point over his shoulder. "And of all the people on this planet that I could spot in Hartford, CT when I've only lived here for two minutes, I see Sally Sue. She is, just to speed this along, um, _Strangers_, who I'm probably freaking out pretty horribly at this point…" Sookie couldn't take her amused and confused eyes off the guy, and Lorelai was pretty much in the same boat.

He went on without stopping. "She's this person, that I used to sort of…date. But she needed space and she needed China and most importantly, she needed my best friend who was moving to China, which explains why China became so important to her. And it's been a few years, and they've been in China doing their China things and eating their China food, but apparently they came back to the states, and I know this because they're about 80 paces away from this very spot. Now, I've moved on. I've had 1 1/2 serious relationships since then, and if I knew you better I'd explain that stat, but 1 1/2 serious relationships made me realize that Sally Sue did me a favor when she left. Nevertheless, here they are walking hand-in-hand and there's no way for them to know about my 1 1/2 serious relationships just from looking at me, so basically I come off as the loser who's walking down the street alone after four years. And I've had enough humiliation to last a lifetime with her, and this isn't my proudest moment, and I'm actually kind of ashamed of myself for behaving this way, but what's done is done, and I was wondering if I could just sit at your table for about 40.8 seconds while you two lovely women just accept me and act like I'm a stud with two gorgeous undefined female friends." He held out his hands like his proposition was done. "No disrespect intended."

Silence came from them both.

He glanced to his right and saw the happy couple getting closer. But he still wanted to laugh at himself as his actions caught up to him more and more in that silence.

Lorelai propped both hands under her chin and squinted at him curiously. "Okay, um, Eric, you said it was?"

He nodded, smiled politely.

"I just have one question." He waited anxiously for her to proceed. "What would possess a person…to date someone named Sally Sue?"

He didn't know how to take the question. Didn't know what to say. When Sookie laughed, his eyes zoomed to her and he slowly let the humor seep through his distracted brain.

"Take a seat," Sookie invited simply.

He took a breath of relief and did just that. "Thanks, Ladies. I appreciate this so much."

"You better not be pulling our leg, heartbroken Eric."

He looked at Lorelai with wide eyes. "Oh, believe me, I'm not. I actually have a picture of her feet in my wallet."

Lorelai and Sookie exchanged a look, and he caught it and laughed.

"It was her and my dog, Quincy. Quincy got hit by a car and died about a month after she left, and I couldn't bring myself to throw out any picture of him. I just cut her out and kept it."

"Sorry to hear about your dog," Lorelai said with sympathy. He nodded gratefully and she reached her hand toward him. "You have nice hair. Mind if I overextend and run my hand through it for about 15 seconds?"

Sookie giggled.

He looked at Sookie and saw that his ex best and ex lover were getting closer. He leaned in. "Sure." He smiled. "And thanks."

She winked and started smoothing her hands through his curls. Nice was definitely not a strong enough verb. "My name is Lorelai, by the way. And that there is Sookie," she added with a soft southern dialect.

"Nice to meet you both."

"Thanks for making this a more eventful lunch."

"Thanks for going above and beyond. I can't imagine how I came off to you two."

Lorelai looked into the faces of the passing strangers. The guy saw Eric, stiffened, and looked away. Sally Sue saw him and stiffened as well, but she stared longer before taking time to notice his companions. Her beau had to pull her along.

Lorelai removed her hand and went back to smiling and conversing with their newest tablemate.

"Mission accomplished, heartbroken Eric. One jealous ex to go."

He kept his eyes on her. "Did she see me? Did she look?"

She smiled. "She looked, she envied, she mentally clawed me and Sookie's eyes out."

He grinned. "That news really shouldn't feel as good as it does."

"A little retribution every once in a while is good for the soul, I hear."

"Mm, what's the going prison sentence for that these days anyway?" he asked jokily.

"For a regular J-O or a celeb…say someone with that name spelled backwards?" Sookie contributed.

He smiled. "I'm sure I've taken enough of your time, so I'll be on my way." He looked from one to the other as he stood. "Sookie, Lorelai, it was a pleasure. And thanks again so much. If either of you ever need a kidney, look me up. I'll be sure to recommend someone good for you."

Lorelai chuckled and reached for a fry. Before she could convey her farewell and her wishes for him to live long and prosper, she was interrupted.

"Hey, have you had lunch?" Sookie blurted.

She looked over at her friend and drew her eyebrows close in question.

Eric, already standing, rubbed his flat, toned stomach. "Um…" he thought decisively. "Well, I've already had lunch, but I could eat."

Sookie nodded and focused on Lorelai. "Two lunches. Reminds me of someone else I know."

He laughed. Seemed a little embarrassed. "Yeah, I can pack it away pretty good. Luckily, I have this weird love of veggies, so it works out okay." He looked at Lorelai with a smile since Sookie seemed to be focused on her while he spoke. "How's the burger?"

"Pretty good," she answered simply.

He lowered himself back in his chair. "I've been passing that truck every day for a few weeks, and have been curious to know how the food is. Would you mind if I grabbed a burger and joined you and Sookie?"

She smiled at his obvious interest. "Well, we're probably going-"

"Of course you can join us!" Sookie chirped. "Go on and get your food, Hon. We'll be here."

He looked over and chuckled at Sookie. "Thanks." He stood. "I'll be right back." He looked at Lorelai once more before leaving the table.

Lorelai leaned forward immediately after he'd cleared earshot. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Sookie leaned in too. "What? He's cute! He's more than just cute, Lorelai; he's _gorgeous_! And he's funny and likeable." She rolled her eyes at Lorelai's glare. "It's just lunch; relax! Just talk to him a little. It's been a _year_, for goodness sake. Don't tell me you couldn't stand to put yourself out there."

"So, suddenly this is about sex? I thought you said lunch."

"I'm looking out for you."

"I am not sleeping with him, Sookie."

"Who said you had to?"

"You did! I don't care if it's been _three_ years. I'll find a guy when I'm ready."

She frowned. "Ready? What, Jason was the love of your life all of a sudden? You need time to get over him? A week after you broke up with him, you were ready to hop on another saddle. What happened?"

She sighed. "This isn't about being hung up on anybody. Can't I take some time for me? Why does something have to be wrong with a woman if she's not anxious to jump into a relationship…or somebody's bed?"

"For pete's sake! I'm not telling you to have sex with him! Just enjoy the guy's company!"

"Well, I really don't have much of a choice now that you've invited him to stay, do I?"

"Exactly. Thank me later."

"I'd thank you now if my foot could reach over to your side of the table."

"Okay," Eric breathed as he approached the table. "Got my burger, my complimentary side of fries. I think I'm ready for my food truck experience. I won't even allow myself to be deterred by the lack of a displayed establishment grade recommended by the public health department. This is going to be fun."

"And delicious!" boasted Sookie.

He picked up his burger and shrugged a shoulder. "Well, you only live once," he said before taking a huge bite.

Lorelai picked up her burger as well as she considered his words. "Actually, the jury's still out on that one," she muttered.

"Hm?" he questioned attentively.

"Never mind."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**March 29, 2005**_

Lorelai leaned toward her foot that rested on the edge of her coffee table. Carefully, she brushed the nail polish brush along her middle toenail to provide the second coat.

"So, then," she continued, "I got to talking about Rory, and before I knew it, it dawned on me that Sookie had been gone for like twenty minutes. I started looking around for her because there was no way she was still in the bathroom. Do you know where I saw her?"

She didn't wait for Luke to answer. He was sitting down from her on the couch. She didn't even remove focus from her toes as she went on.

"I saw her a half block away sitting on a bench reading the day's paper. Can you believe that? I pulled out my phone and called her. I was still looking at her, and I saw her pull out her phone, look at the call display, glance over in my direction, then try to hide behind the newspaper. I'm telling you, she is unbelievable. I couldn't believe she did that to me. I still can't!"

Luke took his eyes from the baseball game at hearing Lorelai finally pause long enough to allow him to say something. Every since she came in the house, she was venting nonstop.

"What exactly did she do to you?" he asked blandly.

She looked over at him. "Haven't you been listening? She spent all afternoon pushing Eric on me!"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah. Must've been terrible."

"It was very unappreciated," she went on. "And that's not even the half of it. When we-" She stopped and looked at him again. "Were you being sarcastic?" she asked, having a dense moment.

"No, not at all."

She pointed her brush at him. "Now, I know _that_ was sarcastic."

He reluctantly tore attention away from the TV again. "If you were in so much pain being with him, why'd it take you twenty minutes to notice Sookie was still gone?"

She looked at him in disbelief. "Whose side are you on?"

"I didn't know there were sides."

"There are always sides! The right side, aka _mine_, and the wrong side, aka whoever's defying me! Now, whose are you on?"

"Jeez. I'm not picking sides. I'm just making an observation. It sounds to me like you like the guy."

"No, I don't."

"Seems like it. I mean, you won't shut up about him."

"I'm telling you about my day!"

"No, you're telling me about your lunch. Which lasted for two hours. You were at work for three times that and even dropped by the diner on your way home. When am I going to hear about the _rest_ of your day?"

She turned to face him. "What Sookie did really bugged me, Luke. I'm trying to share that with you."

He nodded in understanding. "And I appreciate that. But at least be honest with yourself. Just say that you like him."

"He was a good guy, but I don't-"

"You like him."

"This was all Sookie's doing, and I _told_ her that I didn't want-"

"For the love of god, just say that you like him!"

"I do not _like_ him!"

He rolled his head back. "Why are you making this so hard? Just say it, Lorelai. Say the words, _'I like him, Luke'_."

She blew out a frustrated breath. "Just let me finish the story. At the end of the lunch-"

"No, not until you say the damn words."

"Fine!" she shouted. "I like him!" Her foot knocked the polish from the table. She stared into Luke's eyes, and she was the first to look away. She blinked away slowly, noticeably regretting something about that admission. Whether it was the admission, itself or the loud, frustrated way it'd come out.

She leaned down and retrieved the polish after it'd already leaked red into the carpet. She didn't really care.

Erecting herself and shaking her head, she looked ahead towards the TV. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

He clenched his jaw and looked ahead too. "No."

She shook her head again. Stood up and crossed over him on her way to the kitchen. When Luke finally built up enough resolve to go in after her, he found her reorganizing her junk food cabinet.

He went in and stood beside her. Stood there for a minute in silence.

"Are we okay?" he asked quietly.

"Sure."

He watched her pull items out quickly like she had limited time to complete the task. "I'm sorry for that," he finally said. "That was just my own stupid…I don't even know. I figured it'd make things easier."

She kept working. "And did it?"

He smiled. "Not even close."

She slowed down before stopping, sighing, and turning to him. "I hate that you made me say that because it's not even true."

His brows rose. "It's not?" he asked quietly.

"No. It's not. I think he's a good guy, but I'm not ready to date him or anyone else. No matter how good a guy he is."

Luke nodded his understanding. It took him a long time to say the words that he needed to say. "Not to…imply anything…but this isn't because of me, is it?" He dreaded leaving enough pause for her to speak, afraid she'd jump in with a negative answer a little too fast. After all the living years he'd spent pining for her, his ego couldn't take the rejection. That didn't happen, though. Silence stretched out for a long moment, and he was the one to interrupt it. "Because I'm kind of off limits…being dead and all," he reminded softly.

She looked away from his eyes. "I know that."

"And I'm not coming back," he added just as soft.

She shifted and folded her arms tightly over her chest as she regained eye contact. "You think I don't know that?"

"Okay," he said peacefully. She rolled her eyes away, appearing upset. "Life is short, Lorelai. I know that better than anyone. If you're still into that obnoxious ex of yours, if he's who is holding you back from this, then go try to work it out with him. If not, then call this Eric guy. You keep talking about him, so he definitely made some kind of impression. And if that's not the case, fine. Go find someone else. Just don't put off being happy."

"I _am_ happy," she defended.

"Being alone?"

"Do you have to make it sound so pathetic?"

"All I did was say it out loud."

"_Which_ makes it sound pathetic!"

He sighed. "Did you happen to get the guy's number?"

"Didn't have to. Sookie got it for me. But it doesn't matter because I'm not using it," she asserted.

Feeling that they were back on steady ground, Luke started for the living room so he could finish watching the game. "Of course you're not using it. At least not right away. You don't want to come off too desperate."

Lorelai watched him leave before going over to a kitchen chair, sitting down, and resting her forehead against the cold table.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**April 23, 2005**_

"Lorelai?"

"What?" she asked irritably.

Luke pointed to the stove. "Pot's boiling over."

"Well, move it!"

He put his hands on his hips. "You know I can't."

She continued slicing the long loaf of French bread into thick slices. "Then, it's just going to have to wait, isn't it? I'm already doing something!"

"Why are you yelling at me?"

"Because you're bugging me and I'm busy. Now make like a shoe and shoo!"

"If I shooed, your house would burn down." He shook his head at the pot spilling water onto the burners causing it to steam and sizzle. "Just take a second, _take a breath_, and come over here to lower the heat a little."

She set the knife down and walked to the stove with her lip out. "I'm tired of this, Luke!" She turned the dial down. "It's hard. And I want to watch TV!"

"You're the one that wanted to learn to cook."

"You're the one that made it sound glamorous! There is nothing glamorous about this!" She snatched her hand away from the stove and clutched it while jumping up and down.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Stupid pot burned me!"

He rolled his eyes. "Was the stupid pot provoked?"

She stopped and shot evil daggers at him. "Not the time, Luke."

He gave a gesture of apology. "You gonna be okay?"

She rubbed the finger sourly. "I guess."

He nodded. "Okay, you're going to have to stir the pasta to make sure it's not sticking."

"Isn't that why we added all that water?"

"Yeah, but you still want to stir it around a little bit."

She picked up the fork since that was the only thing she had on hand and checked the pot. "It's not sticking," she relayed.

"Okay, good. Just a few more minutes."

"How do I know when it's ready?"

"You can taste it."

"I need a guinea pig. I knew I forgot something."

"Or you can take a noodle out and toss it at the wall. If it sticks, it's ready."

Her eyes lit up as she looked at him. "Nobody told me cooking means you can start food fights! Why didn't you start with that?"

He smiled. "Go finish your bread."

She held up a finger at that reminder. "Right. Multitask. I'm on it."

He made sure everything was okay in the area she'd just left. The boiling water was now contained, the dry shrimp sat by the stove waiting to be turned into scampi, and the oven was preheated for her bread.

The spilled water from the boiling pot was easily overlooked. Considering the mess she'd made earlier in the week with the sausage balls, as well as the floured kitchen that resulted from the scratch-made pancake fiasco, she had come quite a ways.

He even had hope that this meal wouldn't send her running to the trashcan while covering her mouth.

"It's hard watching all of this and not being able to help out."

"Well it's twice as hard doing all of this and not being able to have any help."

He stopped beside her and smiled down at the bread she cut so meticulously. "You're doing a good job."

"I haven't even started on the scampi part of the scampi dinner. The true horrors are yet to come."

"Well, your temper's improving."

She laughed. "Hey, it's not my fault cooking is so stressful."

"Nah, it's actually pretty relaxing. All you have to do is slow down."

"Every time I try to slow down, you yell at me that I'm neglecting something."

"I don't yell. You do."

"Well. Like you said I'm improving. Don't knock my progress. I'm a student driver here."

Luke sat in a chair already pulled out as he watched her start to dress her bread. "So, what's the first meal you think you'll be making for Eric Settlemeyer: Harvard grad, and Engineer?"

She smiled. "Do you really have to do that every time you say his name?"

He shrugged. "It's impressive. Should be noted."

"He doesn't make a big deal out of it, and neither do I. You're the only one who does."

He looked down with a smile. "Oh, come on, you should be proud. You went from one guy your parents approved of straight into the arms of another one they'd love. You're on a roll. Prep school Lorelai is finding her calling."

She laughed as she smoothed the spread over the bread. "Emily hated Jason," she recalled with amusement. "Sure, he had the family ties and rich blood, but he also had a personality that repelled my mother. So shocking that something as pedestrian as an actual _character_ would turn her away when the purse strings are lined in gold." She shook her head and looked at him. "And as for Eric, I'm not bringing him anywhere near her because one, he's never done anything to me, and b, I've been out with the guy twice. Stop acting like we're headed down the aisle. It's freaking me out."

"Well, you're learning to cook."

"And?"

"Don't tell me it's a latent hobby. Admit it, you're doing it for a guy."

"You really think I'm that lame?"

"Why is that lame? Hell, it's why I learned to cook."

"Oh really?" She smirked. "What was his name?"

"Very funny."

Her lips spread widely. "I know that's why you learned to cook, Luke. You _told_ me that two weeks ago."

"So, what, did I inspire you?" he asked absurdly.

She shrugged. "You can say that."

Not expecting that answer, he stared at her with doubt. "I _inspired_ you?" he asked again in a flat tone.

She worked for seconds in silence. "I wanted to do something you liked to do. Preferably _with_ you. And since you act like any exposure to daylight will turn you to dust, our options were limited. Besides, cooking can come in handy." She looked up at him. "I have it on good authority that it works really well at getting a person laid."

"Jeez."

"Hold your head up high. You found an angle. Be proud."

"I don't want to hear about your inherited methods of bedding somebody."

"I doubt I'll ever get that good."

"That's a relief."

She glanced at him and smiled.

He glanced at her right back, and they looked away at the same moment. He cleared his throat. "Besides…ya know, he should be cooking for _you_. You should make sure he cooks for you and opens doors and pulls out chairs. And treats you like…something good. All that stupid crap."

She ended up re-buttering the same spot about six times. "Listen to you, sounding like a big brother," she teased adoringly.

He had a moment of consternation as he thought of how he'd no longer be there to look out for his actual little sister. But if he was to be honest with himself, she'd never needed him to look out for her anyway.

"Brother, huh?" he asked with a quiet chuckle.

She blinked, looked slightly unsettled as she continued working her wrist. "Or a really close friend of the family. Not related."

He lifted his eyes to her. Stared at her beautiful face that remained lowered. Thought of all the years he'd wasted hiding how he felt. "Yeah, I already have one crazy sister. I don't need another one," he stated flippantly.

She smiled easily but still didn't look up. "Guess it works out well then."

"Yeah, it does." He pointed over his shoulder. "Check your water."

She wiped her hands across the bottom of her jeans and went to do that. While carefully pulling a single noodle out, she asked, "And just throw it?"

"Yeah. And see if it sticks."

She turned and hurled it with the intention of hitting the fridge. It hit the backdoor instead. "Ugg. I really have to work on that before this year's carnival dunking booth."

Luke watched her peel the noodle from the glass and walk to the trash with it. "You cooked pasta," he said with a growing smile.

Lorelai lifted her brows at that revelation. "I _did_ cook pasta, didn't I?"

"No matter how the rest of the meal turns out, just remember that you cooked pasta."

She went back for the pot and headed to the sink where a colander awaited. "Are you losing faith in me?"

"Never."

"You did a really good impression of someone losing faith in me." Steam rushed from the sink as she emptied the pot.

"That just makes me talented."

"_Ah_, the talented Mr. Danes. Didn't know I was dealing with a man of such caliber," she went on distractedly. She set the pot down and looked at her edible creation. "Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

He smiled, amused at how proud she seemed over her feat. "I join you for dinner every night," he reminded.

She turned with flourish. "Yes, in the living room. I meant at the dinner table." She swept her hand over all that would eventually make up her meal. "Fine cuisine deserves a lavish arrangement."

"Wow, sounds fancy."

She shrugged carelessly. "Just me in pants eating on an actual plate drinking out of a cup without a top and straw."

He nodded. "Mm. Well, I'd love to join you. Watching you eat is, after all, my favorite pastime."

She smiled largely. "Let's just hope I can keep it down, right?"

"You'll do great." He stared at his fingers for a moment while Lorelai went back over to the stove to get the pan ready like Luke had told her. She turned on the heat and went back over to the table to finish her bread.

Picking up her knife, she could no longer keep a straight face. "Tell me you saw the uninstructed movements. Tell me you saw that!" she said with a joyous wiggle of her hips.

He just smiled and ran his hand over his mouth. "Can I tell you something stupid?"

She met his eyes. "Of course," she said at once, responding to his thoughtful tone.

He paused and stared into her eyes. When he finally spoke, he couldn't manage to hold that contact. "I've been thinking about um…it's stupid…but I've kind of been thinking about what Rory said."

Lorelai scanned the room in thought. "What'd she say?"

"The time when you guys were talking on the couch and we were watching that movie."

That memory crash-landed as soon as he hit the key points. Conversation flooded in. "Oh." She looked at him and spoke carefully. "What exactly are you referring to?"

"The uh…" He moved about uncomfortably. "The thing she said about me possibly having a kid."

Lorelai reared back. That definitely wasn't where she expected him to go.

He looked up at her and took in her astonishment. "I don't think I do," he was quick to add. He paused. "But what if I do?"

She set all items down and leaned on the table with her hands as she looked down on him squarely. "You're telling me that you may have a _child_?"

He looked exhausted all of a sudden. "I've just been thinking a lot about it, and all I'm saying is…it's not out of the realm of possibility."

Lorelai looked at him in disbelief. She couldn't even grasp the hugeness. "So, you have a kid," she stated as fact.

He rolled his eyes back into his head slowly. Wondered why he'd even opened his big mouth. "No, I don—well, I don't know. I _could_. I _could_ have a kid," he ended charily.

He looked into her eyes with a sigh, and neither blinked in the near ten-second silence.

"I've never been crazy about kids." He frowned unfavorably. "Well, specifically, little…" Using his hand, he signified the height requirement, which was about three feet. "…tiny people." He brought his hand back and looked down to the floor. "It's not as bad as it was when I was younger, but it's never been a secret how I felt. I've been in more than a handful of relationships, and what if when we broke up, the strip turned whatever color the strip turns and…" He shook his head at the overwhelming thought. "What if she took everything I'd said the wrong way and thought I wouldn't be there for my kid, you know? _Could I even blame her_?"

Lorelai still appeared at a loss for words. It took her a moment to form another sentence. "What exactly do you mean by a _handful of relationships_?" she inquired.

"What, you want a number?"

She stood up from her lean. "What kind of question is that? Of course I don't want an actual num-" She paused in question and then folded her arms before asking, "Well, what would the number be…hypothetically?"

Appearing to still be processing, he stared at her. "What's your _number_?" he asked when he came to the conclusion that he didn't like the question.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked high-pitched.

He frowned. "What does mine have to do with anything?" he shot back.

"You're the one wondering if you've fathered half of Connecticut!"

"Oh jeez. I should've known you'd blow this all out of proportion."

Lorelai didn't appreciate the comment. But after a few seconds of rational thought, she realized she wasn't helping to ease his worries at all. In all honesty, she figured she was making him even regret confiding in her.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I know I'm not helping. This is just a _little_ shocking," she revealed.

"I'm not saying anything is for certain. I'm stating possibility. That's all."

"Maybe you're just thinking about this too hard. How much of this could be your own paranoia?"

He shook his head like it wasn't good. "Not much." He scratched his brow. "I can eliminate two. Rachel's one," he said glancing at her. "I've seen her and one other one within nine months of the last time we…" He ended there.

"_Had sex_," she said for him, feeling instant weirdness. "What about the rest of the them, who I can only assume at this point are enough to start a more than sufficient game of Red Rover."

He glared at her and looked away. "The rest are the ones I'm worrying about," he supplied.

Her hands went to her hips, and she sighed. After a short silence, she came back like everything was going to be all right. "Well, if you do have a kid out there, that'd be good news, right?"

He stared at the bread that lay abandoned on the table. He'd already made up his mind about it, but the question started his mind turning once again. "It'd be great news," he revealed quietly. He looked up. "Other than my kid growing up without a father, that is."

"Wait, Luke, you're getting ahead of yourself here. First, find out if any of your swimmers ever smacked into an egg, and _then_ you can worry about the other stuff."

"How exactly am I supposed to find out anything, Lorelai? Need I remind you-"

"I know, I know, disgusting things are crawling through your eyeball sockets as we speak, but listen…" she interjected quickly.

"Nice."

She smiled and sat in the chair next to him. "I can help with this, Luke," she said movingly. "If you want, I can investigate this more and find out for sure."

"How would you even know where to look?"

Motivated for his sake, she answered, "The internet. A valid credit card number can get you entry into someone's soul these days. Just tell me what information you have and we'll take it from there. And if I have to, I'll hire a PI. Anything that will tell us what we need to know."

"Jeez, I don't want to turn this into some big thing. I mean, I'm sure this'll turn out to be nothing. The chances I have a kid out there somewhere are so small and-"

"Then, why'd you bring it up?" He didn't say anything to that. "If there's a chance that this has any validity and it means something to you, then let me help. I _want_ to help."

He shook his head. "But this is stupid. I don't know why I'm even thinking about it. It's just...I don't know…just stupid."

"It's not stupid. It's important to you, which makes it important to me. So, we're doing this."

After long thoughtful seconds of him diverting attention from her, a grateful smile formed and he glanced at her. "It is kind of important to me," he admitted quietly.

She smiled. "I know."

His smile grew and turned bashful. "Thanks."

"My pleasure."

He didn't look at her long before his eyes were automatically redirected to the stove behind her. "Pan's smoking," he announced.

Lorelai turned, looked, and then hopped up. "Oh, no! This totally doesn't count! I was doing good before this! You're my witness…_and_ the reason this happened! So, this is your fault!"

He smiled coolly as she fanned smoke towards the vent.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**May 22, 2005**_

Lorelai came inside of her house and deposited her purse on the couch before heading upstairs.

She'd gotten into the habit of leaving televisions on for Luke's benefit. The living room TV was usually programmed to ESPN while her bedroom TV displayed one of many premium channels. More often than not, she found him upstairs. He usually watched games at night or on weekends, but throughout the day, he didn't seem all that interested.

She'd shared with him how she wouldn't complain too much if she ended up with a man just like him. He made compromise painless. They'd had so many harmonious transitions from Humphrey Bogart's finest to playoffs of various kinds.

She loved coming home to him. And unlike in the beginning, she no longer feared he'd stumble into the light while she was out. After eleven weeks, she was growing evermore confident that he'd be there when she returned. At some point, she had come to the conclusion that she just liked herself more when he was around. It was something to be said for feeling so connected with someone, even in times of conflict.

She sometimes pondered if things could have been different for them had she realized that kinship while he was still alive. But knowing her like she, of course, knew herself, she already knew the answer to that would've been blazingly uneventful. As supreme a personality as she was, when it came to matters of the heart, she was withdrawn and took few chances. Luke only had himself to blame for making himself so dependable and indispensable.

Lorelai walked into her bedroom and saw Luke in front of the window looking out.

"Boo."

He turned. "Hey. Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

She smiled. "Learn to be quicker."

He walked to the center of the room. "You're finally back, huh?"

"Yup. We had a good time."

Considering her company, that surprised him. "TJ must've had a prior engagement."

Lorelai dropped her manila envelope to the bed and sat down beside it. "Well, he did, actually," she admitted with laughter. "But it still wouldn't have been the worst evening. He doesn't bother me nearly as much as he bothers you."

"You haven't been thoroughly exposed," he expressed. "Give it time." He sat next to her on the bed. Lorelai was busy removing her shoes, and she waited to feel movement of the mattress, but felt none. Couldn't bring herself to fully let that expectation go.

"Liz is doing better," she told him.

He nodded wistfully. Him and his sister were never completely on the best terms since he thought she routinely made such poor decisions, but they were all they had since their parents died. With his death, her family had been stripped away in the blink of an eye. All Luke wanted to do was hold his little sister and tell her it was going to be okay. He hated that she was hurting.

"Um, what'd she fix you guys to eat at her house?" he asked.

"We ordered in Chinese. It was no Al's, but really, what is? She really is doing better, Luke. We talked more and she opened up more, which is so great."

He nodded and looked down. He really couldn't express how much he appreciated Lorelai's willingness to check in regularly with Liz. She'd told him how, before his return, things were too fresh, so she had stopped by only twice with a homemade dish from Sookie on both occasions. Didn't stay long. Things were way too fresh. For the both of them.

But after Luke appeared, that changed, and so did the women's relationship. They went from acquaintances tied by tragedy to friends linked through fondness of a spectacular man, both dedicated to healing. Lorelai had an Ace in the hole in the form of Luke, but her newer spirit was inspirational, and Liz and her had quickly grown close.

"Did you…get around to talking about her?"

Lorelai met his eyes and nodded with a gentle curl of her lips. "Yeah, we talked about her."

He looked back at the envelope on the bed. "And she saw the pictures?"

Again, she nodded. "She was actually pretty speechless. As soon as I showed them to her, it was like she just knew right away."

He licked his lips anxiously. "So, she's gonna…"

"Yeah, Hon, she's going to talk to Anna."

That news brought Luke such joy as well as a wave of nervous jitters.

Weeks of investigating a grand total of seven women, had led to Anna Nardini. When Lorelai had first approached Luke with her findings, he was stunned silent. After all, he had never _really_ expected anything to come of the whole thing. Nothing was definite, but the age of the child and the knowledge of his ex was enough to convince him that he had a daughter. Lorelai left him alone to process when it became obvious that he needed that. She went out, came back, made dinner, ate, and was in the middle of watching Law & Order by the time he came to and started speaking.

Luke's exes lived as far south as West Virginia and as far north as Vermont. Lorelai had done quite a bit of traveling on her own. She'd actually gotten a referral and hired a professional for Anna, as well as Pam, who as it turned out, was his one and only fling. Both of them lived the closest, and the cost was significantly lower than if she had hired out of state. The hire was necessary. Her hands were full with the other five, and she needed the help desperately.

Armed to the teeth with city hall addresses, school districts, home addresses, and a zoom lens camera borrowed from Kirk, Lorelai set out in five different directions at various times during an eighteen day period. All of the energy turned up a set of boy/girl twins that were eight years younger than they needed to have been, an infant fourteen years younger than necessary, and a cocker spaniel mix…of the wrong species.

Three days after her final lead turned out to be a dud, she heard about Anna's eleven-year-old daughter, April. A spot-on age.

Every since that day, Luke had been mesmerized with the pictures taken. He met Lorelai at the door in the evenings, anxious for her to lay them out or flip through them with him. Leaving them out while she wasn't home would have left room for too many questions had Rory come home unexpectedly.

Lorelai saw the resemblance. Luke wanted more than anything for April to be his, so he thought everything down to her fingernails were from his genes.

They had high probability but no formal proof. Someone had to talk to Anna, and the only one to do that was Liz, an actual blood relation, who would, of course, have vested interest.

Luke breathed deeply while sitting next to Lorelai on the bed. "Wow, this is happening."

Lorelai felt the urge to lay her hand on his shoulder. Had to remind herself that sight and sound was the only way to experience him. She shared in his smile and verified his astonishment. "This is definitely happening, Luke. Liz is going to talk to her tomorrow."

He nodded, swallowed nervously. "And you stuck to the story, right? As far as she knows, you already knew about Anna, and you were just walking through the town, spotted April with her, and couldn't help but see something in her, right?"

She gave a firm, emphatic nod. "Right."

He seemed to process the whole thing and still couldn't grasp it. Rubbing a hand over his face, he smiled broadly and looked at Lorelai. "I know you're getting tired of me saying this, but I can't tell you how much I appre-"

"Luke, enough. Your gratitude is exhausting me. You've done everything short of promising me your first born, and I'm fairly certain that'd result in me kidnapping April, and where would that leave us?"

He pointed back on the bed and gave her a look of enticement. It made her smile and study him through squinted eyes. She was sure he was trying to pull off pitiful and beseeching, but it came off like a proposition.

His expression got more pronounced before he replaced it with a shy smile and more of the pleading look that Lorelai figured he was going for all along. She chuckled and reached back for the envelope. She kept watch on his smile and decided to let him keep it and not embarrass him to high heaven.

He might not want to leave.

"You probably wouldn't object to me just framing these things, would you?" she asked of the snapshots of April around her neighborhood.

He followed each movement of her hands, anxious for her to pull out the pictures of who he knew was his kid.

Lorelai held up two of his favorites, the two that showed her face clearly. She glanced at them, already so familiar with them that she could get a brush and paint and put the child on canvas as if she, herself, were Rembrandt.

Her eyes moved to Luke and she lost time just watching him beam and glow like only a father could.

She took advantage of his distraction and ended up studying everything from his ear to his jaw line. He was such a rock solid kind of handsome. So rugged and just insanely…good looking. It made her uncomfortable as that conscious thought settled into her knowledge base.

But it was true. Luke was hot.

"So, are you ever going to tell me about April's mom?" she asked engagingly.

He glanced at her and went back to falling in love with the girl in the pictures. "I already did."

She nodded. "Yeah, in the way of telling me how long ago you dated her and when the last time was that you guys did the deed. Same as the other six." She smiled. "By the way, throw in Rachel and whoever the other chick is who was eliminated, and I totally know your number."

He looked up at her and just stared before rolling his eyes away.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," she apologized lightly. She leaned in. "Tell me about her."

"There's nothing to tell."

"Where'd you meet her?"

He tore focus reluctantly from the picture. "In a park," he answered patiently.

"Hm, quaint. Very small-town."

He nodded his passive agreement.

"Who approached who?"

Oh, the questions. "I was sitting on a bench, she sat on the same bench. Eventually, we started a conversation."

"Did you talk about how _life is like a box of chocolates_?"

He rolled his eyes. "After a while, I asked her out and she said yes. Anymore questions?"

She nodded goofily but her question came from a more mature place. "At any point, did you love her?"

The question caught him by surprise, but he didn't mind answering. Had to think for a second, though, as if he'd never considered it. "Nah, wouldn't say loved. I liked her a lot, though."

She seemed satisfied with that. Decided to be just as honest about her situation. "Ditto." They looked at one another and smiled at the humor of that commonality. "Hooray for pre-marital childbearing. It's the best kind of disgrace."

He smiled a little. "Guess that's one way to look at it."

She pulled the photos together. "Tomorrow's a pretty big day for you," she said. "Why don't we head downstairs, turn the radio up as loud as it'll go, and play some checkers to keep your mind occupied."

He spoke up blandly. "Why don't we _not_ turn the radio on at _all_," he suggested instead. "You always look for any excuse at all to not hear me when I tell you which of my checker pieces to move and how."

She smiled brilliantly and stood. "If you don't like the house rules, then Drop Dead Fred."

He stood up and walked past her toward the door. "You're just bursting with funny, aren't you?" he mumbled monotonously.

Her smile remained as she followed him out. "It's especially nice to have it noticed."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**June 8, 2005**_

Lorelai came downstairs in a bathrobe and a dress in each hand.

"Alright, last time."

Luke looked at her from the couch where he sat. Seeing yet another selection of dresses, which he couldn't care less about, he tossed his head back. "Jeez, Lorelai, just pick a dress, and go! Please!"

"Luke, this is my fourth date with Eric. You're used to this by now."

"I will never be used to this. Is this what it's like to live with a woman?"

"Well, yeah. That and the convenient exposure to our catalog of brilliance. Now, come on! Long and black," she asked holding up one hand, "Or long and indistinct with the weird but gorgeous colors and shapes?"

"Can never go wrong with black, I guess."

"Really? So, you say this one?"

"Sure. Now, pick the opposite one like you usually do, take it upstairs, and bring it back down with another one for yet another comparison."

Her eyes widened farcically. She stage-whispered, "Oh no, I think he's on to me." With a hurried turn, she rushed back up the stairs.

Luke started watching TV again. When he went five whole minutes without seeing Lorelai, he breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she'd finally picked a stupid dress and had actually started getting ready.

Half an hour later, there she was standing before him in a black dress that hugged her magnificently. Her hair was up, her make-up was on, and she held a clutch bag in front of her with both hands.

"Okay?" she asked hopefully.

He couldn't fathom anyone on earth looking better. She looked unattainable. Which was befitting because for him, she was. "Okay," he answered listlessly, not daring to show how affected he was.

She smiled. "Eric will be here any minute, so is it okay if I just sit and bug you until then?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Before he'd even finished the sentence, she was seated next him.

He sighed as she grinned. "So, what are you guys going to do on your date tonight?"

"No idea."

He looked at her. "If you don't have any clue, then why'd you dress like that?"

"Like what?"

He pointed out her dress with his eyes. "All…fancy."

She changed positions to get comfortable. Ended up crossing her legs and showing off way too much thigh. "I don't think it's that fancy. I just wanted to look nice. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

He looked down at the exposure. And hated the engineer in that moment. Lorelai wasn't too keen on falling for the guy, but try as she might, she kept finding it impossible to stay away, so Luke knew he wasn't a bad guy. Still didn't stop him from thinking of him as the anti-Christ.

"Lot going on, I see," he stated boldly.

She looked down immediately at the area he was referring to. She tried to readjust but only succeeded in pulling it down a few centimeters, which was nothing. "I know. It's kind of bad. I'm thinking of mending it an inch or two."

"After tonight," he followed knowingly.

She smiled, looked worried. "Yeah, after tonight."

He nodded slow and looked away. She grew more worried.

"Is it more sexy or slutty…in your opinion?"

He blinked back over to her legs with no enthusiasm. "To be honest, it's kind of…" he began brazenly like he wasn't going to sugarcoat anything to protect her feelings. He stared for a few seconds before rolling his eyes away. "It's sexy," he admitted in a mumble.

She brightened instantly. Melted a little. She absolutely loved that he'd just said that to her. She looked down at her thigh and back at him. "Are you just saying that because you don't want to call me a slut? You don't have to worry; it's not like I can slap you or anything."

He grew irritated. "Can you not take a compliment without trying to milk it dry?"

"Well…no."

"Well, too bad. You're barking up the wrong tree this time. I said what I said, now drop it."

She held her hands up. "It's dropped."

He stared ahead at the TV in that silence. After seconds of commercials, he spoke. "Did I come off like a jerk just then or was that just in my imagination?"

She was unaffected. Told him smilingly, "You never mean anything by it."

He looked at her. "I really don't," he said delicately.

She smiled and continued looking into his eyes. "You know…if April grows up to be the _tiniest_ bit like you, she's definitely going to be someone who I want to know."

He smiled. His daughter, April. April, his daughter. He still couldn't get used to _knowing_ that he'd fathered a beautiful little girl. "Thanks," he said of Lorelai's meaningful compliment.

They stared even longer.

When the doorbell rang, Lorelai breathed deep and smiled uniformly. "Gotta go," she said quietly.

He nodded. "Have fun. I mean that."

She stood up looking as if she had things to say. When she made it to the door, she steadied herself and pulled it open to a handsomely dressed man who smiled from ear to ear at the sight of her.

"Wow, you look great!"

She returned the compliment and moved forward, prompting him to back away from the threshold. She never kept him waiting. Never gave him reason to come inside of her house.

He glanced over her shoulder just as she closed the door. "Why do you always leave the TV and lights on?"

She locked the door and faced him with a smile. "Habit." She held her hand out to him. "Shall we?"

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**June 9, 2005**_

With the morning off, Lorelai lay in bed sleeping as it approached the latest morning hour. It wasn't often that she got the chance to wake up without an alarm clock.

Her fourth date with Eric had been the night before, and she'd gotten in late. She had come in, showered, changed, and gone to bed. Luke wasn't around.

Lying there, sounds from a distant lawn mower made her stir. Within a few minutes, she opened her eyes to the brightness of the new day. She wiped her eyes and adjusted little by little to the light.

She was facing the door. Remembering Luke's absence upon her return the night before, she looked over her shoulder to check the rest of her bedroom. And there he was sitting in the chair by the window. She took a relieving breath and turned on her other side to face him. She made sure the covers covered her from the waist down since all she wore were panties, and she proceeded to cozy into the large flannel shirt that covered her top half. The shirt had effortlessly become her nightwear. Usually accompanied with shorts, last night, unable to find any and too worn to look, she'd just pulled on panties and gone to bed.

"Good morning," he said when she appeared settled.

"Morning," she followed quietly.

He watched her free her hand from the too long sleeve and then gently place it on the mattress in front of her. After some consideration and steady eye contact, she lifted her fingers and patted the bed. She followed that up by sliding her body back toward the door to make more room. She returned her hand to the safety of the flannel and tucked it between the pillow and her cheek as she waited for him to comply.

Luke stood dutifully and moved over to the bed. There, he looked down at her, and her eyes only seemed to tell him to get in already. He sat at first. Looked down on her again and found her waiting patiently like he wasn't done getting positioned. Feeling silly and vastly inappropriate, he took his cue from her and laid back before finally turning on his side to face her.

He swallowed, taking her in. Felt such a surreal feeling being there with her like that. "Something wrong?" he asked softly.

She blinked and just kept looking into his eyes. Smiled, just for the sake of easing discomfort. "I slept with him," she revealed in a whisper.

He tensed. Looked away uneasily. Had not one idea of what to say. "Um…good for you?" He met her eyes again in confusion. He was seconds away from becoming angry at the way she'd gone about sharing news that he never wanted to know about in the first place.

"It wasn't planned."

He shook his head. "I'm not understanding why-"

"Just let me talk. Please."

Lorelai stared into his intense blue eyes and remembered last night. Remembered at first, Eric's apologies at having had no time to shave. He'd been running late from work and only found time to shower and change before collecting her. She had smiled a little too broadly. Told him it was fine.

The date went great, and even though it was date four, he didn't push her. He was prepared to take her home to Stars Hollow. But holding open her car door at the restaurant, he snuck an early kiss. And then things got fuzzy.

"We ended up back at his place. It wasn't planned," she repeated vulnerably.

Crashing through the door of Eric's modest 1.5 story stucco home, Lorelai wasn't too concerned with the grand tour. Within the minute, they were horizontal in his master bedroom. Crazed and desperate, they started sexing without protection. Stopped long enough to roll on a condom and then resumed.

"I was so far gone. He kissed me, Luke. He kissed me, and I put my hands on his face. He hadn't shaved, and the moment I did that, that was it. All…all I could think about was you."

Luke's face showed confusion.

She sighed and visually traced his features as flashback after flashback made her feel dragged down.

Lorelai remained on top. Took charge and guided that heated sexual ride. He moaned so heavily beneath her as she worked her pelvis over his. His hands were all over her as she moved passionately while leaning low to suck and lick over his stubbly neck.

'_Oh, Lorelai, this feels so_-'

Her palm went to his mouth, and she muffled the foreign voice. She never opened her eyes. Not once. She rode him harder and made him go as deep as he could go. When she removed her hand, there was an instant replacement in the form of her tongue and lips.

Her heart sped up as she looked at Luke. She could feel it coming. For the first time ever, she could feel it coming, and there was really no stopping it.

She parted her lips, and out came jagged breaths along with the barest, "I love you, Luke." She swallowed and trembled.

He blinked, breathed just as erratically as she had. "I-in what way?" he asked nervously.

The room grew silent.

None of what she said was easy for her to say. None of what she said had been planned. "In my mind, it was you I made love to last night."

He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. When he looked at her again, he smiled. "Never thought I'd hear those words come from your mouth. At least not directed at me."

She saw it as positive that he didn't jump up and run away. "How does it feel to hear that I feel that way? It's weird, I bet, huh?"

"Well…it's kind of weird to know that you feel the same way I do. After all these years…"

She regarded him solemnly. "You mean that?"

"Of course, I do. I love you, Lorelai."

Her eyes misted. "In what way?"

He smiled. "I wish it was me you made love to last night."

She nodded as the mist turned to water. She wiped at her eyes. Neither could stop staring at the other. With the admitted feelings, the intimacy of it went through the roof.

"Am I allowed to see you naked now?" he asked in jest.

She didn't laugh as he expected her to. She glanced down and then started undoing buttons as she looked back at him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed as he held a hand out to cover what already showed. "I was kidding!"

She undid one more before pausing. "I don't mind."

He saw the outline of her breast against the flannel where she held it closed. He chuckled at where his mind was going. This could not happen. "Maybe _later_," he said preposterously. He stared at her chest but still told her, "Close your shirt."

She laid on her back and started doing that. "If you insist."

He breathed thankfully when she was decent again. She scooted across the bed and got as close to him she could without touching him. She appeared to be snuggled against his chest as she lay curled in a ball.

He smiled looking down in her nest of hair. "Hey?"

"Yeah," she answered softly.

"How was I last night?"

She glanced up at him and smiled. "You were great."

He winked at her, and she returned her head to the safety of his chest.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**June 9, 2005**_

Coming in from a late night at the Dragonfly, Lorelai hurried inside with take-out and bags. After a speedy trip to the mall on her lunch break, she'd procured quite an outfit for her planned evening home.

"Luke!" she called unthinkingly in her anxious state of mind.

She never called out to him that way upon entering the house out of fear that he wouldn't be the only one in there.

But she was way too giddy to care. It was a wonder that she was able to tear herself away from him earlier that day in order to go to work. After her first time ever proclaiming love for a guy, she wanted nothing more than to spend the entire day with him.

"Luke, where are you?"

She stepped from the foyer and looked around. She saw no one on the first sweep, but on the second, she spotted him sitting on the stairs.

She focused on him and grinned. "There you are!" Instantly, her expression turned to displeasure. "What have I told you about materializing in front of me like that? You freak me out when you do that, Mary Pop-in."

He shrugged. "It's what we're dealing with," he riddled.

She ignored him and moved to the couch with her things. "I have a treat for you, mister. You're going to love it, too." She erected herself and scratched her head. "I just have to figure out what I did with my Prince album. There's the perfect song on there…" She moved her thoughtful eyes to him and smiled. "It's called Cream."

"You're going to listen to music?" he asked lethargically.

She bit her nail as she tried to remember if Rory had gotten rid of her CD. "Nope," she answered. "I'm going to _move_ to music." His brows lifted. "And you're going to watch," she told him.

"What are you talking about?"

Using two fingers, she pulled a corner of the blue and black lacy number over the top of a shopping bag. When she was sure he'd seen the sneak peak, she dropped it back inside and clasped her hands. "Need I say more?"

He looked at her blankly. "Have you said _anything_?"

"Luke, trust me when I tell you, you're going to love it. And you're going to love me for it." She smiled. "Even more, I mean."

He dropped his eyes with a sigh. "I have to talk to you."

"About what?" she asked, and then immediately jumped in excitement. "Oh wait, I'm forgetting the best part!" She picked up a smaller bag by the handles and swung it left to right, taunting Luke with the mystery of what lay inside. "I stopped by a special shop that specializes in…various novelties. After the main show there's going to be another feature solo performance that's going to blow your mind." She set it down. "I'm very excited about this."

"Lorelai…"

"Afterwards, we can come back downstairs and… Notice I said _'back downstairs'_ so if you're still in the dark, that should give you quite an indication of what I mean."

"Would you please…"

"Wait, one other thing! When we come back down, maybe we can spend some time just having you touch different things. Dirtiness aside, unfortunately. We can start with something really small like a cotton ball or a plastic bag. I feel like if you were super focused, there's a chance you-"

"Ah, jeez, Lorelai, _enough_!" His voice started in a low groan and ended with a boom.

She stopped talking immediately. Had questions and concern written across her face, but she didn't speak in the seconds that followed. The quiet fell over them as she watched Luke struggle with some unknown inner turmoil.

"This has gone too far," he said in a quieter voice.

"And…by that you mean…?"

"What the hell are we doing?" he exclaimed instantly.

She didn't say anything to that, but she looked fearful of what he might say.

He tossed his hand in her general direction. "You're going out and buying lingerie and all this other crap, and for what? We can't do this, Lorelai. _Can't_. In every sense of the word. This is getting ridiculous!"

She lowered her gaze to the bags and slowly came to fold her arms over her chest. Her voice was calm and guarded. "But this morning, we both said-"

"This morning was a mistake," he interrupted immediately. He didn't dare look at her as he said that. His eyes roamed the floor.

She took that outburst very easily on the outside. Just nodded and studied a spot on the couch. In her mind, she ran with the theory that he was scared or upset and ill equipped to handle his own emotions. She had no choice but to entertain that conception because nothing else would allow her to continue standing there so collectedly.

"What do you think was a mistake?" she had to ask.

Suddenly brooding and flippant, he answered, "Everything." He stared at and squeezed his fingers.

"Everything," she parroted. Looking at him, he didn't add to that. She shrugged. "Well, I think you're wrong. Matter of fact, I _know_ you're wrong. I meant everything I said, and so did you."

He looked up at her with unkind eyes. "And you know that for a fact?" he challenged.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't," she said, unruffled.

He never blinked and never softened. If anything, he went in the other direction. Spoke to her like it was business and nothing personal. "I've known you for a long time, and I care about you a lot. But what I said this morning, I shouldn't have. I got caught in the moment, and…I said something I didn't mean."

She swallowed. "So, undo it. Tell me the opposite of what you told me this morning."

He rolled his eyes like he didn't have time for the emotional stuff. But then his face flashed the anguish and he came with the standard, "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear I'm sorry." She tried her best to remain _solid_. But her voice cracked there. She had to rope it in there. "I want to hear you tell me that you do not love me."

He sighed, got so irritated. "You think I want to hurt you? You think this is fun for me? This is hard, but I'm telling you what you need to know. I'm not about to rub it in your face!"

"You're so full of it."

"Are you even hearing what I'm trying to tell you?"

"Even in death, you're _predictable_."

He clenched his teeth and gave her a hard look. "Just take your goddamn bags upstairs. I hope you kept the receipts."

"Nothing changed between this morning and now! Nothing except you had all day alone to _think_. And we all know how detrimental that can be!"

"You're pushing me, Lorelai."

She dropped her hands to her sides in disbelief. "_I'm_ pushing you? I'm pushing _you_? Do you know how big it was to say what I said to you? First day out with my heart, and you're kicking it all over the place like a can on the street!"

"I can't help how I feel."

"So, you can't help that you love me," she stated boldly.

He was quick to oppose. "I do not lo-" The words got caught in his throat.

Lorelai just shook her head. "Why are you doing this? Why are you lying?"

He sighed tiredly. "This ends now. Whatever this thing is that we _stupidly_ tried to start, it ends now. Do you understand me?"

"What is that? The _man's_ final word? Am I supposed to go off somewhere and be silent and seen now?"

"Oh my god."

"What was it that freaked you out?"

"Nothing."

"Something did. I want to know what it was."

"I'm not alive, Lorelai! You are! It didn't take too much of my _flawed_ over-thinking tendency to determine that's not a good combination!"

"Oh, I see. It's the _circumstances_ that are inspiring this change of heart."

"It's not a change of heart if I never felt it to begin with."

She walked closer to him. "I call bullshit."

"No, if you want to call…if you want to make a damn call, pick up the phone and call Eric. And stop ignoring his calls."

That made her pull back. "Excuse me?"

"He's been calling here all day. Said he tried your cell a whole bunch of times, so he probably thinks you're trying to blow him off at this point. And my guess is he's probably right."

"Eric has nothing to do with this," she said tightly.

He allowed those words to settle. "Maybe that's the problem," he followed. "You can't choose me over him, Lorelai. I'm not an option." He stood. "I'm taking myself out of this equation."

She stared up at him as water filled her eyes. "You do that, and I'll hate you."

He reared back, sure he'd heard her wrong. "What'd you say?"

She repeated it slowly and clearly. "I said I will _hate you_, and as far as I'm concerned, you can leave and never come back."

He scoffed. "I can _leave and never come back_? Are you kidding me? You sound like a two year old."

"This isn't your choice to make, Luke. It's mine. I know what we're dealing with, okay? I'm aware of these extraterrestrial limitations, and if I'm okay with that, that's all that matters."

"So, what, if I'm not okay with it, it's just too bad?"

"Your feelings aren't what's causing this grand stand, and you know it! You're worried about _me_. You think you're doing what's best for _me_, and you're _not_!"

He looked away. Steeled himself. "Lorelai, please don't cry."

She couldn't control her sobbing. "I swear I will hate you, Luke. I will hate you so much if you do this to me."

"Please stop crying."

"You were lying. You know you were lying."

He glanced down at her from the stairs he stood on. "I meant what I said. I'm sorry."

Lorelai felt her heart breaking. It hurt like hell. She knew in her heart that he didn't mean what he said, so she couldn't understand why his words were tearing her up inside. "You can leave now."

"I'm not going anywhere. That's not what I meant by-"

"No, _I'm_ telling you to leave! If you don't want to be in the equation then get out of it. Disappear."

He sighed. "I'm not leaving, and you don't want me to go anywhere, so just stop."

She wiped her face and still cried. Her anger was mounting, and there was no telling how far she'd go with her words if she didn't do exactly what he just said and stop. He was right. She didn't want him to go anywhere, and she'd hate herself if he left.

"You know what? Fine. Have it your way. You want me to act like this morning never happened, I'll do that. You want me to call Eric, fine, I'll do that too." She snatched her things up from the couch and moved around him on the stairs. "Just give me a minute to pull myself together and I'll get him on the phone." She took the stairs with attitude. "I can get him over here and he and I can work on christening every inch of my house seeing as how I'm so _single_ _and ready to mingle_."

Luke watched her move further up, and he couldn't even think of anything to say to that. When the door slammed shut, it took a while before he was able to turn away from it.

He descended the last couple of stairs while dragging his feet. "Jeez."

_**TBC…**_


	4. Loose Strings & Whole Hearts

Loose Strings & Whole Hearts

_**June 18, 2005**_

The phone rang and Lorelai picked it up as she exited the kitchen. "Hello." Luke was on the couch, and she only looked at him and looked away. "Hey, Eric." She headed up the stairs. "Yeah, that's fine. Just try to make it here by eight. I'm starving." She laughed a tired laugh. "Yeah, Hon, I'm looking forward to it."

And then she got too far away for Luke to hear.

He sighed and stood up. Instantly grasping his head, he moved over toward the window.

He and Lorelai hadn't talked much since the night she'd come home anxious to put on a show for him. In fact, they'd only said a few words to one another. But he didn't go anyplace. Not just because blackness was _the_ worst alternative, but because he needed her just as much, if not more, than she needed him. Even if she hated him, he couldn't stop himself from being there.

She'd called Eric the day following their argument. Three times, they went out that week. Two of those times she didn't even bother coming home. But she still didn't allow Eric in the house, so Luke hadn't met him.

_**June 14, 2005**_

Earlier in the week, Lorelai had spent three long hours in the kitchen attempting to bake peanut butter cookies. She kept burning them and had to start over numerous times. Luke stayed out of the way and watched the house fill with smoke twice from his spot in the living room. When he finally went in the kitchen, she was cleaning up and checking on the cookies every two minutes to keep from making another disastrous batch. He told her that batch smelled promising. She thanked him and said nothing else. When done, Luke watched her try a couple before pulling out Tupperware and stacking the majority of them inside.

"Cookies for lunch?"

"Not for me."

He nodded. Determined from there that Eric was really making an impression. He didn't even acknowledge his own jealousy. His feelings were very low on his list of priorities.

_**June 18, 2005**_

Lorelai came down the stairs with the phone at her side. She spotted Luke by the window and paused as she studied his unmoving frame.

"Deep in thought?" she asked lightly.

He turned instantly. Thought for sure someone else had come into the room and she was talking to them because she hadn't initiated any exchanges for over a week.

He found her looking square at him. "Uh, no. Just, uh, standing here."

She nodded. "Oh. Okay." She hopped down the remaining steps and went to put the phone back on the base.

He gestured at her. "Thanks for…"

She looked over at him and saw him searching for a way to end that sentence. She smiled. "Eric wants me to meet his parents," she confided.

"Oh. Wow."

She walked her bare feet to the couch, sat, and then looked at him over the back. "He said no pressure. They'll be in town in a few weeks and he figured it wouldn't hurt. But when has meeting parents ever been pressureless? I'm conflicted."

He was cautious. Was it that easy for them to be back on good terms?

"Why are you conflicted?" He stayed behind the couch and looked down at her with his hands in his back pockets.

"I feel like it's way too soon. We could get to that place one day, but I don't want to rush it. I don't deal well with rushing things."

"And…you want my advice?"

"If you're dishing it out."

He eyed her with vigilance. "Is this a trick?"

She looked really amused by that but barely smiled. "At ease, Luke. I wouldn't try to trick you with this."

"Oh…"

"What, with it being such a precarious and off-limits topic and all…" she joked calmly. She met his eyes and smiled.

He didn't touch that one. Just nodded genially.

"Well…meeting the parents doesn't always mean it's serious." He started around the couch. "What's the worst that could happen? You meet them, the mother falls in love with you, and starts hounding him about putting a ring on your finger." He shrugged like it was nothing. "What's scary about that?" he teased.

She smiled, watching his eyes as he sat. "Yeah, totally pressureless."

"Totally."

She continued to stare at him as her smile slowly faded. Admitted softly, "I like him, Luke."

He looked down briefly. Nodded and smiled. "I figured."

Her contact never wavered. She tilted her head and followed that statement with a question that caught him off guard. Made his heart jump into his throat. "Do you love me?"

His edge was nowhere to be found. All that was there was 9 days of missing her conversation and reflecting on her tears. Hating himself a little more every time he recalled that pain he'd inflicted.

He sighed. "You know I do," he answered in a whisper.

She noticeably relaxed. "I knew it," she whispered back. Her hand went to her chest. "I love you, too. More than I can ever say."

Luke swallowed and turned away. He needed his edge back. _Needed_ it back. "Um, look I-"

She cleared her throat. "Now, back to Eric," she interrupted. He slowly came to relax with her kind and engaging smile. "Get over myself and meet the parents is your vote?"

It took long seconds to answer. The unintended look of adoration he gave to Lorelai stole all attention and brainpower. "Um…yeah…that's my vote."

"Then, that's what I'll do," she ended quietly.

He nodded his okay, and they finally looked away from each other.

"Well, now that we're talking again, I've, uh, had a question to ask you for a few days. Was wondering if you could help me out with that."

"Oh, really?" she asked in intrigue. "Hit me with it."

He looked over with incredulity. "_Cookies_?"

She laughed with a shy shrug. "What? He likes the things," she defended.

"You almost burned the house down."

"Only twice."

"Oh jeez," he said with a chuckle.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**July 12, 2005**_

Luke walked into Lorelai's bedroom just as she unzipped her skirt and let it fall around her ankles. She noticed him and didn't even seem embarrassed. "Hey!" She started on her blouse and called to him as he turned to head back out. "It's a bra and panties, Luke. Just pretend we're at the beach and this is my bikini."

He slowly turned back and couldn't help looking at her exposed body as he expressed fault with that. "Seeing you in a bikini would probably get the same reaction, to be fair."

She smiled and picked up her dress from the bed. "Well, if I saw you in swimming trunks and nothing else, I can promise you, the last thing I'd do is go the other way."

He turned red, and she laughed.

"I've missed you, Babe," she revealed with sincerity.

He nodded. "Well, I've been here. You're the one with all the prior engagements," he reminded kindly.

She pulled the dress on. "I know, I know." She hurried over to her mirror to get it positioned perfectly. "But it doesn't mean I haven't been missing you." She stopped and looked at him. "Tomorrow it's you and me, okay?"

He smiled. "So, Eric will be busy, huh?"

She laughed at that. "No, he won't," she assured. "We were actually going to hook up after work."

"Same as always," he noted.

She went back to straightening her clothes. "Yeah same as always, Mr. Smarty Pants. But I can cancel tomorrow."

"Nah, don't do that."

"Too late. I'm doing that."

He walked over to the bed while admiring her and sat down. "What are you two doing tonight?"

She turned away from the mirror and looked at herself from the back. "Three, actually. We're picking up Rory and having dinner."

"That's good. What does that make? The fourth of fifth time all of you have gotten together?"

She nodded. "Something like that. I keep trying to explain to him how it's all about me and how he needs to just forget about the kid, but…he keeps wanting to include her and get to know her. The jerk."

Luke smiled. "So, she likes him, then?"

"She's intrigued. Thinks he reminds her of her dad a little. I definitely didn't see that one coming." She walked back over to the bed and collected the strewn clothes. "Eric isn't like anyone I've ever dated. Not even a culmination. He's so eclectic it's ridiculous. But if he has a tendency to remind me of anyone, it wouldn't be Christopher."

She threw the clothes over on the floor, and Luke rolled his eyes at that. Her idea of tidying up was laughable.

"Who would it be?" he asked.

She looked at him and smiled. "The Rant Man, himself."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"You, Luke. Man, that whooshing sound must drive you crazy. All day long, things just flying over your head." She demonstrated with her hands. "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. That's what the hat is for, isn't it? Keeps the wind out of your hair."

As if on cue, he secured his hat. "How does he remind you of me?"

"He's so positive usually. But when he's annoyed with something…it's the freakiest thing. He goes on and on, and there's like no end. I swear to god, I was absolutely _freaked out_ the first time I heard him start in on popcorn prices at the theatre." She watched Luke's lips curl as he shook his head dismissively. She went on, anxious to make that beautiful smile go larger.

"He got regretful like he was sure he'd blown it with me, but little did he know, it was the best side of himself he could've shown me. I am addicted to that part of him." She laughed to herself. "It's probably best to never reveal to him _why_ I'm addicted to that part of him, but I love it nonetheless." She winked. "Nobody does it like you, though."

"You know, most women just look for a sense of humor."

"What weirdoes."

"Yeah, _they're_ the weirdoes," he mocked.

She leaned down closer to his face. "Well, let them laugh it up. I'll just stick with finding little pieces of Luke Danes, the man who died and stole my heart."

He stared back into her face, unable to hide his show of love for her. He sighed wistfully and shook it off. "Well, you look beautiful in that dress."

She smiled and slowly backed away. "Thanks, Babe," she said in a whispered voice. Reluctantly, she turned to the closet to grab shoes. "I told Eric I'd be at his place at 7:15, which is in 5 minutes, so as you can see, I'm doing great on time. I haven't finished dressing and I still have a thirty-minute trip to make to Hartford. At least I don't have to worry about Rory pacing the floor when we don't show up to her dorm on time because she knows her mother very well."

She turned with shoes in her hand and noticed Luke's focus elsewhere. She followed his line of vision to a corner of the room. There was nothing worth looking at there. Just a chair with a collection of clothes piled on it. She looked back to Luke who still stared.

"Hey," she called with a winded breath as she tried to secure her shoes while standing. He didn't answer. "Luke?" she followed.

His eyes zipped to her. "Yeah?"

She looked over again to the chair with clothes. "What were you looking at?"

"Nothing," he answered easily.

She studied him, wondering if it was her imagination or if he appeared jittery. With little time to spare, she brushed it off and started getting ready again.

"I'll be in late tonight. Will you wait up for me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll be here."

She smiled happily. "Perfect nightcap."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**July 13, 2005**_

Lorelai left work early and bought a stack of movies to watch with Luke. She came inside of her house and immediately let him know that she was home and all his for the night.

Luke noticed the insane number of movies that she sat on the coffee table and couldn't help but smile.

"Before we start with those, I have a favor to ask."

"Okay." She waved him up. "Going upstairs to change, so talk and walk; talk and walk." She ran up the stairs before he could answer.

He came into her room a minute later and avoided looking at her stripping her clothes off. "I opened a savings account a while back, and I wanted to give the money to April," he said as he sat on her bed.

With her back to him, she pulled off her bra and slipped into a tank top. "Wow, that's an awesome idea."

He nodded. "Yeah, it's not as much as much as I'd like, but she'll still be able to cover at least half of her college tuition. Or it could fund a trip around the world or a new car or could help her open a business one day. Whatever she wants to do. I moved it around a bit so it's been getting pretty good interest so if she wants to just let it grow more, that'll work too."

"Well, I'm definitely behind you if you want to do that, but doesn't Liz already have access to all of that? I mean, I'm sure the funds are still available since you were unknowingly King Solomon sitting on a gold mine and everything, but how exactly do you expect me to approach her and ask her to fork over this huge sum of money?"

"First of all, Liz knows that April is my kid now. She's been spending time with her and getting to know her, right?" Lorelai nodded. Liz was bordering on being obsessed with April. She saw so much of Luke in her, and she didn't hesitate to begin a relationship with the young girl. Anna encouraged it, probably out of guilt. Luke went on. "So, she knows what I would do. She knows that I'd take care of my kid, and as irresponsible as she can be, I have all faith, she's going to help Anna out with anything she needs." He shook his head. "Though I doubt Anna would even take it."

Lorelai nodded, suddenly remembering Liz's casual mention of beginning a trust fund for April because she knew that's something Luke would wholeheartedly approve of for his daughter.

"And second of all," he began again, "Liz doesn't know about the savings account so you wouldn't have to approach her at all. It's in an online bank."

"Online? When'd you cross into the new millennium?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Account information's in the safe." He gave her a wary look. "Unless you've stopped procrastinating at the worst time and finally given Liz the combination, in which case what I have planned won't work."

"I haven't _been_ procrastinating," she began smartly and then softened her voice. "She just hasn't been back to the diner since right after…everything. And I can't say I blame her. I've been waiting until she was ready. Wasn't going to just start waving a stupid combination in her face."

He frowned at her. "Why didn't you tell me that a long time ago? Every time I asked and you said you hadn't done it, I've been blaming you."

Her hands went to her hips. "Need I reiterate how much I love ranting Luke?"

"Jeez."

She smiled. Finally with bottoms on, along with long comfy socks, she climbed onto the bed on her stomach and propped herself on her elbows beside him. "So, what's the plan, Stan?"

He looked off in thought. "I'm going to need you to forge a note. Something simple, just something I may have jotted down and stick it in the safe with all the account stuff just so there will be no question of where I want the money to go."

"A note that says what?"

He shrugged. "A note to self saying to add April Nardini to the account, listing the account by name and then just a checklist of what I'll need to get in order to make that happen. Like her social security number and all that stuff. It'll show intent. And when Liz finally sees all of that, she'll know what I had in mind for the money and she'll follow through and make sure it all goes to April."

He looked down at Lorelai who seemed to be allowing that to play through in her mind. "I know the question will be there as to how long I knew I had a daughter and how I found out but I don't really care about that. As long as April gets the money."

She looked up at him. "Yeah, I guess we could do that." She paused and thought. "We could go one step further if you want and maybe have a note in there too, almost like a ripped page from a journal."

"A journal? I don't think so."

"_Like_ it was ripped from a journal, Luke. _Like, like_. Date it maybe a week before so it won't be like you knew all along and didn't care enough to do something about it. Something that can detail the discovery or just have your shock and your feelings…which I think are worth noting. April's a kid who never knew her dad and the first mention of him is finding out he was recently killed. It's worth it for her to know how much you loved finding out that you had a daughter. I was able to witness that, and I, for one, will never forget your face when you found out. I've never seen you that happy, Luke. Just imagine her receiving a note straight from your heart not even intended for anyone to see… No one will ever be able to take that away from her. Not even a mom who was _so sure_ you wouldn't want to be a part of her life."

He considered that. Looked down at her. "That's a lot of forging."

She chuckled. "I'm up for the task."

"You sure we could pull that off?"

"Yeah, I think so. But either way, I'd like nothing more than to try."

He smiled. "When do we start?"

She pulled herself up and hopped to the floor. "Right now." She hurried to the door. "I've got plenty of notes left by you when I wasn't home, telling me about what you found while fixing different things in the house. Give me a minute and I'll get them." She yelled back as she started down the stairs. "I've seen you write so many times that I doubt I'll even need them, though."

"Well, get them anyway. Let's not take any chances."

"I'm with you there!"

He got up and followed her out. Ended up stopping in the middle of the staircase.

A minute later, Lorelai reappeared with a stack of papers in her hand. She paused on the bottom step noticing him standing there. Eyes wide, she looked from him over past the coffee table. Looked from him over there again. Finally back to him. "Why do you keep staring off like that? What the hell are you looking at?" She looked over again and gave a more thorough sweep, only to draw yet another blank.

Looking at her suddenly, he took a deep breath. "You got them?"

Questions in her tone and expression, she answered, "Yeah, I got them."

"Good. Let's do it in the kitchen." He walked down past her and headed in there.

Lorelai stayed in place and studied the living room once more. There was nothing there. Shaking her head, she backed off the step she stood on and followed him in.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**July 15, 2005**_

_(1/9/05)_

_I can't believe it. I found out I have a daughter today. Nobody to tell. No way I can tell anybody when I'm still trying to soak up the news myself. I don't even know what to say except…wow. This is officially the biggest day of my life. She's beautiful, too. Easily the most beautiful kid in the world. I guess all fathers say that. Oh man, I'm a father. A dad. To this beautiful kid who's almost a teenager. That means I've missed over a decade of her life. How'd that happen? Suddenly I'm thinking about her first step and first day of school. Never thought I'd be the guy thinking about a first step._

"That doesn't sound like me at all."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Luke, I you said almost this exact same thing in our practice runs. This is your monologue. Now be quiet and let me finish."

"Jeez."

_I'm thinking about the life she's had so far and wondering if my being in it would've made it better or worse. I don't know what kind of dad I would've made or what kind I'll be from here on out. I love her already, so that's got to be saying something. I love her more than I love myself and I haven't even met her yet. Oh jeez, now I'm thinking about boyfriends and curfews. What is this, like a switch that just gets turned on from the moment the child exists in your world? Oh god, what if she meets a jerk who doesn't treat her right? What if she meets a guy who's only out for one thing, which let's face it, most guys are. What if she gets her heart broken by one of those losers? Damn it, I already want to kill them. Does she have a step-dad who she loves? Will she accept me? When she gets married, will she want me to walk her down the aisle? I want to. I want to be the one to give my daughter away, and I want to have a man-to-man talk with the groom. I want to scare him to death and have him thinking I'll hunt him down if he harms one hair on her head. Because I will. I'll go to jail for April. I'll lay down and die for April. I love her so much, and I haven't even met her._

"You with me, Luke?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he answered sadly.

"Hang in there, Hon. I'm almost finished."

_I'm thinking about the person she is. Is she a tomboy or a princess? Good god, I just mentioned princess. I've never said the word princess in my life. Well, once I used it to mock a prima donna, but that doesn't count. Good example of how dumb guys can be. I'm going to meet April someday. And then I'll spend the rest of my life making up for the years I missed. I'm sure Anna had her reasons for not telling me about her. I won't focus on that. I'll just move forward with April. I haven't even met her, and already, she's the center of my world. I can't wait to meet her. I can't wait to know her…_

Lorelai laid the paper down on the table and took a soft breath. She watched Luke walk slowly toward the living room and stop at the entryway. He stood there in silence. Lorelai looked down. Stared at the page that appeared to have Luke's exact handwriting. Stared at the words on the page that were undoubtedly his.

After a minute came and went, he turned around and came back, eyes downcast. She looked up at him. "You okay?" she asked quietly.

He sat down and leaned on his knees. "Yeah, I'll be alright," he replied stoically.

She touched the paper. "You want to look at it one more time and make sure everything's okay?"

He shook his hanging head. "Everything's good."

She nodded and carefully pulled the top edge down to meet the bottom. Then she picked it up and crumpled it in her hands. He looked up at the sound. She shrugged. "Makes it seem more handled," she explained softly. "Going to fold it a dozen times in a few ways, too."

He nodded his understanding and stared at the paper as she worked it over.

She watched him as he watched her handiwork. "You sure you're okay, Baby?"

He met her eyes and a lax smile came over his face. "I'm okay," he answered more normally, more intimately due to the way she'd addressed him.

She smiled in a smitten manner and focused on what she was doing.

"I'll be dropping off the package tomorrow. Both the note-to-self and the…" She held up the paper in her hand "…letter-to-self," she ended.

"And you'll be sure Liz gets them?"

"You know I will."

"And of course I trust her and everything, but you'll make sure that she does what I-"

"I'll stick my nose as far in your family affairs as I can without getting smacked with a newspaper across the snout. Count on it."

He sat back, glad that things had a good chance of working out okay. He sighed. "I love you." He smiled. That hadn't exactly been his intended direction. "I mean, thank you."

She laughed softly and then leaned forward on the table. "I love you, too. And you're welcome."

They stared for a few long seconds before standing at the same time.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**July 27, 2005**_

Lorelai lay on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune. She paid more attention to the contestants than to the puzzles.

Luke was distracted, lost in thought. He stared ahead for the majority of the show but called her as the bonus letters appeared on the board in the final round. Lorelai was primed and ready to start yelling consonants.

"How long before this is over?" he asked.

"Oh my god! There's no P in this puzzle, you simpleton! The best letters are C, D, B, and U." She tossed her hand toward the TV. "Should be over in about two minutes," she finally responded. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "It can wait."

She nodded and ended up laughing at the screen. "Wow, both of our letters suck. At least two of his were up there. I only got one." The timer started and stopped without the puzzle being solved. The remaining letters appeared. "Oh. Well that was easy." She looked up at Luke. "I knew it all along; I just didn't want to brag." She flashed a smile and muted the TV as she got to her bottom. "Alright, what's up, TV Interruptus." He cleared his throat. The solemn look he wore made her go from playful to worried. "Uh oh," she said quietly.

"Um, you know how for the past few weeks, I've been sort of…preoccupied?"

She barely moved her lips as she answered suspiciously, "Staring at things that weren't there? Sure…"

"Well…I wasn't exactly looking at things that weren't there…"

"Is someone else in here?" she asked with caution.

"No, it's nothing like that. But, um, it is something that I should probably give you a heads up on." He paused and looked off momentarily at a particular spot. Lorelai looked over, same thing she'd done a hundred times in the past couple of weeks. She got the feeling that this time she wouldn't be blown off if she asked what was there. She suddenly didn't want to know.

"There's been this…ball of light." He rubbed his eyes. "Um…and it kind of follows me around. It started out really tiny like a…um, tennis ball," he said while making the shape with his hand. "And it's gotten bigger and bigger. And now it's…" He glanced at that same spot again. "…it's the size of a window. And-and it's growing. Getting bigger."

Lorelai slowly looked over to the wall of the staircase where Luke kept looking. "So…" Her breathing increased. "W-w-what exactly does that mean?"

He spoke very carefully. "Well, I can't say for certain…but my guess is…is that I'm probably supposed to be going into that light."

"What do you me-do you _want_ to go into it?" she questioned with so much anxiety. "Like are you feeling a pull or something?"

He stared over at it for a long while. Nodded slowly as he looked at her and spoke with composure. "Yeah it's…kind of a pull."

She continued looking at him, mouth agape.

"Can you say something?" he asked quietly.

"Are you…" She had to close her eyes and concentrate on her nervous words. "Are you telling me that you're leaving…for good?"

His words were low. "There's a chance."

She started shaking her head. "No, I c-can't…I mean, can't you just…You can't leave…no, no, no, no…I'm not ready; I'm not…I'm not ready…" The knot in her throat came and turned her quaking voice to a whisper. "God."

"Lorelai, calm down," he said with a bare, emotional voice of his own.

Her eyes scoured the room. "What am I supposed to do without you? I need you here. I need you here with me."

He looked down. "It's time," he admitted quietly. "I can't stay here forever like this."

She looked at him, whispered her plea. "Luke, I'll stay home. I'll spend more time with you. I don't have to go anywhere; I don't have to do anything. I'll stay here and…m-maybe this is happening because you think I'm pulling away and I'm not. So, don't go into whatever light you see. Just stay and I'll fix this."

"There's nothing to fix," he replied instantly. "You're not doing anything wrong by living your life, Lorelai." He looked over toward the staircase. "You've been happy. _Apart_ _from_ _me_, you've been happy. Don't downplay that."

"I want you to stay _here_," she said clearly as the tears came.

"I can't do that."

"Yes, you can," she sniveled.

He shook his head. "You're stronger than you know, Lorelai."

"Why did you come back if you were just going to leave again?" She cried harder and squeezed her eyes shut. "What the hell is fair about this?"

Luke ran both hands over his face and answered to the best of his ability. "I don't know. Not much, I guess."

She sniffled. Shook her head at the injustice of it all. "How long?"

"I have no idea."

"How big is it again?"

He looked over. "Like a window. At eye level."

Her lip trembled as she fought for control. Won a little and mostly lost.

"I need to know that you're going to be okay," he told her in a sage and quiet tone.

She wiped her eye and looked away from him as she folded her arms. Kept shaking her head like she refused to accept that he'd be leaving. "I need you," she said shakily.

Luke swallowed hard. "You'll always have me, Lorelai."

She met his eyes. Told him without a word how that well-intentioned sentiment wasn't good enough. She leaned forward and slowly got to her feet. "I can't deal with this right now. I'm going upstairs and going to bed."

"This early?"

She walked to the stairs like pain was in every step. "Apparently."

"What if Eric calls?" he called after her.

"Then Eric will just have to wait, won't he?"

He clenched his jaw. "What if Rory calls?"

"Just leave me alone," she said quietly.

She left up the stairs and Luke threw his hands up. He sat on that frustration for a good half an hour before he went up the stairs after her. Thankfully, she'd left the door open.

"Are you asleep?"

She was positioned on her side facing the window. When she didn't respond, Luke walked around to that side and looked down at her. It was getting dark so her face wasn't entirely visible. He could tell when she blinked, though. She was awake.

"You're not speaking to me now?"

"Go away, Luke."

He scoffed. "Kind of ironic, right? You're telling me to go away and the reason you're even up here is-"

"Will you please give me some time to digest this?" she asked grimly.

He shrugged. "Fine. Take all the time you need. I am, after all, _swimming_ in time," he ended sarcastically. He laid down beside her on his back and linked both hands behind his head.

With a loud sigh, he looked over at her. "So, where are you in the digestion process?" he asked jokily.

"I hate this," she admitted weakly.

He took in her sadness. "That makes two of us," he followed softly. "But the good thing is we're both going to be okay."

"I can really do without the textbook inspirational speeches, Luke."

He smiled. "Nothing I'd like more than not having to give them. But here we are."

"Yeah. Here we definitely are," she parroted.

He turned on his side. "I'm going to be leaving soon," he began gently. "I have no idea what I'm heading into, and as scary as that is, my main concern is you. I have to know that you're not going to shut down."

There was a long silence where she did nothing but stare at the streetlight shining through the window. "I don't want you to go."

Her soft, vulnerable words tore him up inside. "Lorelai, I'm already gone."

"I can see your face and hear your voice. You're not gone."

"That's not enough. I can't touch you, and I never will be able to. I'm not _here_. You know who is here? Rory is; your parents are; Sookie and the town is. Eric is here, Lorelai. Those are the people who are here and who need you now. Would you be willing to give that up?"

It took a while before she answered with a bare, "No."

He shook his head. "And I wouldn't expect you to. You'd be crazy to give all that up. You have a life, and I want you to live it. It'd break my heart if you let all that go to waste."

She breathed quietly as she looked at him in the dim light. "I fell in love with you."

He smiled. "I've been in love with you," he confessed in a whisper.

She felt tears roll down to her pillow. "When you died, I just kept thinking of all the things I never got to say to you. You've always been such a good friend to me, and I didn't get a chance to tell you how important you always were. I didn't get my goodbye."

"Well, now you get one." He stared into her eyes. "Make it good, too, because after this, you're _going_ to continue on with your life."

"Easy for you to say."

"No, it's not easy for me to say. But I'm telling you that I'm not going to stand for you trying to die with me. That's not going to happen. I'm not your _life_, Lorelai. I'm just a piece of a whole. If a piece gets taken away, you mend, you grieve, you heal, and you find a way to move on."

She looked down. Searched hard for some positivity. "I guess I should be happy I got this extra time with you. It's not exactly how things usually work."

"Exactly," he jumped in eagerly. "Glass half full."

She smiled at him sadly. "You know this is going to hurt regardless, right?"

"Unfortunately."

She wiped a few of her tears away and tucked her hand back under her chin. "I'll do what I can."

"Do _all_ you can. And when you think you've given all your effort, give more."

"I'll do my very best," she mocked quietly.

"Remember Rory needs you."

She nodded seriously. "I know. I need her too."

"Your family…remember them."

Emily and Richard were a pain, but they were her parents, and that instant thought of them gave her very near the rejuvenation that Rory had. "I do need to be at my sharpest to do battle with the Gilmores. Can't forget that," she admitted.

He smiled. "And you found love."

"Yeah, I did. But he's leaving me."

"I mean Eric."

She fell quiet. "Well…I don't know about love."

"Seems like it."

She was silent long enough to make Luke more confident in his assumption.

She sighed. "I know I love _you_."

He sat up on his elbow. "Let's get up and not waste whatever time we have left. No going to bed at eight o'clock."

"Not even if I'm depressed?"

"You're not allowed to be depressed. Up."

"I'm not finished digesting," she whined playfully, fighting back the urge to cry true tears.

"Up, up, up."

She pulled herself from the bed and led the way out of the door. He was right behind her.

"I'm so proud of you right now."

"I'm trying."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

_**July 30, 2005**_

Lorelai leaned against her porch rail casually.

She faced away from Babette's house just in case her favorite nosy neighbor peaked through her blinds and wondered who she was talking to. But it was late. Going on ten. So, there was a good chance she wouldn't be able to see too much anyway.

With her front door open wide, Lorelai looked down at Luke's feet waiting for him to cross the threshold and step onto the porch.

"You're getting closer," she noticed.

"Give me a minute."

"I've given you five, but you're still there, and I'm still here."

He took a deep breath. Lorelai's house seemed right, and the idea of anything else just felt wrong. Like it was off limits. But this was his suggestion, and he wanted to follow through on it. Eventually.

He took a breath and tried to go for it but chickened out.

"We can always just try again tomorrow. It's late anyway. Let's-"

"No, we're doing this. Just give me another minute."

She shrugged. "You got it."

He looked behind him to the safety of her house. "Count to five."

"Me?"

"Who else? Count to five."

"Uno, dos, tres-"

"In English, please."

"You're _fluent_ in Spanish," she reminded.

"But you're not. You're being silly. I need a _serious_ count to five."

"Okay, just give me a second to take off my clown shoes here…" She shifted and smiled. "Count to five; here we go. One, two, three, four, five," she counted off with proper beats.

Luke stepped onto the porch.

She gasped and stood up from her lean. "You did it! If I wouldn't look like such a lunatic, I'd give that the clap it deserves."

He ran his hand down his mouth and looked around. "Can you still see me?"

She laughed. "Of course I can still see you." She did an indiscreet gesture to wave him on. "Now, come on. One trip past the diner coming up. In the car, you."

He nodded. "You got your purse?"

"No, it's okay. We'll be right back."

"Grab your purse and phone and stuff. I'll meet you by the car."

He went past her down the stairs like none of his previous fear existed.

"O-kay," she muttered with mild understanding before heading back inside to get her things.

Luke was by the door when she made it back out. She opened the passenger door and made an attempt to look casual as he climbed in. When he was inside, she leaned over him and acted as if she'd opened the door to search for something.

"I feel like an idiot."

He watched her fumble around for nothing. "Well, you look like one too if that makes you feel any better."

Satisfied with the time that passed, she backed out, closed his door, and went around to the driver's side.

Luke was oddly silent during the short ride. He stared out of his window and didn't contribute to Lorelai's chirpy comments. They arrived at the diner in no time at all, and she parked.

"There she is. Still thriving," she said of the brightly lit diner.

They could see Caesar inside cleaning. All customers had left, and in fact, the street was clear of citizens. That's what inspired Lorelai's following suggestion.

"You want to get out and look at it up close?"

He looked over at her and nodded after taking a deep breath. "Yeah, sure; let's do that."

She smiled at him and exited. Went through the same process of opening his door and pretending to have had a reason other than the one she actually had.

"I don't know how you guys do all that car door stuff. It's exhausting," she complained as she caught up with him in the middle of the street. She looked down as she talked, hid her moving lips.

Caesar disappeared into the back as they approached.

"What's all that stuff on the wall? Is that _graffiti_?" he asked in shock.

He picked up the pace, anxious to see it better and was finally able to read the gigantic _Luke's: Always and Forever_ that made up the eye-catching part of the 'graffiti'. Stopping in front of the window, he stared at it.

Lorelai stopped next to him and smiled as she looked at it as well. "Just a little Luke love."

"Ah, jeez. This is embarrassing," he grumbled.

"It's beautiful."

"When does he plan on taking that down?"

"Um, _never_." She laughed. "Why would he?"

"I can just imagine Taylor's reaction."

"I can, too. And I'm guessing it wasn't that bad since he stole the idea, shrunk it, and used it in his store."

"Oh my god. His flipping out would be the only thing that'd make me appreciate something like this. What the hell has happened to this town? Why didn't you tell me about all this?"

"Would you have preferred it if nobody seemed to care at all?"

"Of course not, but-"

"No buts. You're loved. Deal with it." She lifted her brows at him and stepped toward the door. "In fact, I still haven't signed it yet. I think I'll do that now. Embarrassing you _has_ always been a favorite pastime of mine."

He sighed tiredly and checked for Caesar who was still behind the scenes. "Before you go _add to that insanity_," he said in annoyance. His voice softened. "I have to talk to you."

The smile left her face as she turned back to him. "Oh boy. Every time you have to talk to me about something, it seems to be bad news. Any chance this time will be different?"

He looked over toward the gazebo. Focused on Lorelai again and scratched his neck nervously. "Not really."

She glanced through the diner's glass and saw Caesar coming back out. She stepped to the side of the building, out of sight, and leaned against the wall. "How big is it now?" she asked Luke while staring into his eyes.

"It's the size of a doo-" He looked to the gazebo again and did a double take. "Oh my god," he whispered in disbelief.

Lorelai stood up with alert. "What's wrong? Did it close?" she asked anxiously, almost ashamed of herself for how much she wanted that to be the case. He didn't say anything. His eyes got bigger and bigger and he started shaking as he went into shock. "Luke, what's wrong?" she asked panicked.

He swallowed deeply. Had a look that bounced back and forth between terror and elation. Lorelai strained her eyes to see. She wanted to see so badly but couldn't see anything except a starry sky above a decades old gazebo.

"Luke, what do you see? Tell me!"

He started moving his lips as he turned his head slightly in her direction but he kept his eyes on one thing. No words came though he made every effort to get them out. Whispered stutters finally turned into a voice he recognized.

"I-i-it's…my dad."

Lorelai's jaw dropped and she searched in the distance like she was blind and couldn't see.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "Where is he?"

Luke pointed a finger and couldn't stop staring. "Right there. Standing in the light." He spoke quietly like he was afraid he'd scare him away.

Lorelai couldn't stop herself from looking over. "What is he doing?"

His breathing was audible. "It looks like he's waiting for me."

"This is unbelievable."

He swallowed again, nodded. "I…have to go."

She nodded quickly. "O-of course, you do," she agreed. She looked up at his profile, as his attention was pretty much gone forever. She hugged herself and backed up against the wall again.

She waited in the shadows expecting to see him drift away in the distance and never look back. She wouldn't blame him. He was seeing his dad for goodness sake.

She stared at him and tried to soak up his image. Before it went away. Found herself whispering his name involuntarily as tears came from her unblinking eyes.

Luke turned from the glorious vision she couldn't see and searched her out in the darkness.

"Lorelai?"

"I'm here," she said with a trembling and scared voice.

He walked closer to her. Only looked back once before he was upon her. "This is it," he said softly.

She nodded, wanted to be so understanding. "I know. Go."

He moved in closer. Got so close that it was hard for her not to lean in and try with everything in her to steal a kiss. She felt overwhelmed. Stared into his eyes deeply as he did the same.

"Remember what we talked about," he whispered.

She swallowed. Summoned strength. "Yeah, I remember," she assured.

"Never forget how many people love you and count on you."

"I won't." Tears covered her face, and she smiled through that. "Your dad is here for you," she pointed out with glistening and overjoyed eyes. "How amazing is that."

He smiled. Refused to look away from her to get another glimpse at his dad who he hadn't seen in twenty years. "He looks good."

She nodded. "Tell him he raised a great son." She had to stop herself from reaching up to his face. "I'm going to miss you so much."

He looked down at her lips. "Go to Sookie's house. Just spend the night there so you won't be alone tonight, okay?"

She nodded, cried softly.

The light had been getting bigger and stronger. Luke had to fight every second to keep from heading toward it. He kept that battle away from Lorelai. Didn't let her know how he often had to anchor himself in place in order to avoid it when she wasn't home.

It was time, and he knew it was time. He didn't want to say goodbye in her house. Knew it'd be bad enough that she had every other memory of their time together there, so he didn't want to add a painful goodbye to that as well. Wanting to see his father's shop one more time anyway, he decided to let it happen at _Luke's_. Planned to make her go somewhere other than home for that one night after it happened. Just for that one night. The appearance of his father was unforeseen. Made him wonder if it was going to happen that night whether he planned for it to or not.

"Alright, I have to go now."

"Just one thing."

"Yeah?"

She could have sworn she felt the breath from his parted lips.

"When it's my time to go, I want you to be the one to come back for me. Can you promise me that?"

He smiled, shook his head. "Jeez. I'll see what I can do."

"Good enough." They moved even closer. "Have a good journey."

"You too."

"Say hello to Elvis for me." He chuckled, and Lorelai whispered her shock. "I can feel your breath."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, licked her lips, and moved them up to meet his. She got a soft kiss in before he pulled away. They both gasped.

He backed away. Was the first to drop the astonishment and replace it with a smile. Lorelai's smile came slower. Was too focused on wondering when exactly he had become capable of being touched. As she watched him back into the distance, a dim light appearing behind him, she saw the magic that would've easily allowed that to happen for her. The light got brighter as he approached it. With a wink and a point in her direction, he turned and headed straight into it. It lit up brighter than the tree in Times Square before it shrunk to the size of a firefly and disappeared.

Lorelai whispered "Oh my god" behind the hand that lay over her wide-open mouth.

She looked around. Looked for signs of Luke but found none. Didn't see anyone out and about. It was just her. One solitary soul that had witnessed the most miraculous sight.

She leaned her head against the building and looked into the sky. Figured Luke was there now. Found a great deal of joy in her sadness as she remembered the light on his face while telling her about his dad who was waiting for him.

"You're home now," she whispered.

A car came down the street and startled her. Stole her attention. She watched it drive into the distance as she wiped tears from her face with the backs of her hands.

"Okay. You're okay." She put her hand to the wall and looked around. Looked at her jeep. Felt so lost it was unreal. "Go to Sookie's," she whispered in memory.

She gripped her car keys and started walking to the street. Looked over her shoulder and paused before changing directions.

Her knock on the diner door was light, but Caesar was right there. He opened the door for her, as he'd seen Luke do too many times to count. He held the door open with a smile, didn't even bother telling her the diner was closed. That was one ritual he knew he'd never have the heart to break.

"You want some coffee? I can make a fresh pot," he offered.

She looked over to the machine and saw that there was still some in the pot. "I'll take what you have left if you don't mind."

He shook his head. "No, of course I don't."

She smiled, and he hurried over to grab it for her. Lorelai reached in her purse and pulled a pen out. She pulled the top off with her teeth and crouched down on the wall to one of few empty spaces.

"You want this for here or to go?"

"To go is fine, Sweetheart."

"I'll throw in some donuts, too."

"Thanks."

She put her pen to the wall and let it sit there a second as she found the composure she could feel slipping away.

_To Luke: the best friend I could have ever had. I'll always cherish our time together, and I'll never forget the promises I made. Will never stop loving & missing you. Yours Always, Lorelai._

She replaced the cap and read over her words. Sniffled, smiled, and drew a little heart after her name.

"You finally signed the wall," Caesar stated happily as he came up behind her.

She stood and wiped away the few tears that had fallen. Faced him with a smile.

"Uh…a-are you okay?" he asked with concern.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay," she promised. She reached for the items he held. "How much do I owe you, Hon?"

He shrugged. "A few dozen more illegal late night visits and we'll call it even."

She laughed. "You've got a deal."

"See you tomorrow?"

"Sure will. For lunch, though. I'm sure Sookie will have me covered for breakfast."

"Sounds perfect."

Lorelai headed over to the door to let herself out.

"Hey, did you happen to see that weird light that happened out in the square a few minutes ago?" Caesar asked curiously.

She turned. Met his eyes with a beautiful smile. "Yeah. I saw it," she said quietly.

"It was weird, wasn't it?"

"Maybe a little strange," she answered with a kind wink. "But amazing."

He nodded amiably. Chuckled. "For a split second, I thought it was some kind of supernatural thing happening out there."

She touched his arm. "Oh, Caesar. Sounds like somebody needs to lay off the comic books."

"Yeah, you're right," he admitted with laughter.

She turned. "Night, Hon."

"Goodnight."

Lorelai stepped out and closed the door behind herself. She looked up at the sky. Took a deep breath and smiled. "Be a little more incognito next time, will you?"

She opened her bag and pulled out a donut as she walked to her jeep.

**-The End-**

If you read it through, go ahead and tell me what you think. I'd like honest feedback, please!

Not sure when the next story will come, but I have more ideas I'll get down eventually. GG forever! Take care. Love you guys!


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